Uttarakhand

Direct benefit transfer facility to cover 125 social schemes

To ensure that genuine recipients are benefited and leakages in distribution of subsidies are plugged, the Uttarakhand government will soon extend the countrywide Aadhaar-enabled Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) facility to all the 125 social security schemes being run in the state.

Under the scheme, subsidy amount will be distributed online through the DBT facility for both cash and non cash based schemes meant for the poor. “In the case of purely cash-based schemes, for instance, pension amounts will be transferred directly to the Aadhaar-enabled bank accounts of beneficiaries like widows, aged people, physically challenged.”

The same procedure would be followed while distributing scholarships among the scheduled caste, scheduled tribe students and those from the minority communities. As for the non cash-benefit schemes, funds would be disbursed to the Aadhaar-enabled bank accounts of agencies like ration shops and cooperatives, which distribute subsidised food ration or fertilisers, insecticides to farmers.

A state portal (dbt.uk.gov.in) comprising details relating to all 125 social security schemes is likely to be launched next week.

Public hearings over objections to Doon’s zonal plan to begin in August

Over five months after inviting objections to its proposed zonal plan of Dehradun, the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) is set to hold hearings next month for resolving the alleged anomalies in the city’s area-wise development blueprint.

The proposed zonal development plan was published by the MDDA in October last year, while objections to it were sought from the public in February this year.

While the Dehradun Master Plan-2025 was a long-term perspective plan for ensuring sustainable and planned development in the city, the proposed zonal plan was to lay down the area-specific developmental plan within the broad framework of the Master Plan. Dehradun has been divided into nine zones in the plan.

Dehradun’s Master Plan 2025 – which was first released in 2008, invited significant criticism over its anomalies and could only be finally released in its amended form in 2013.

The proposed zonal plan has earmarked various areas into residential (primary, mixed or unplanned), commercial, public and semi-public, recreational (playgrounds, parks and open spaces), agricultural, transportation and special areas, besides also marking fresh proposed roads and road widening plans in the respective areas.

INTERNATIONAL

· Caeleb Dressel becomes first ever Swimmer to win three gold medals in one night at worlds Championship.

The 20-year-old Caeleb Dresselas America’s newest star of the pool recently became the first swimmer to win three gold medals on a single night at either the worlds or the Olympics.

Caeleb Dressel accomplished this feat at 2017 FINA World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

· Shahid Khaqan Abbasi declared as interim Pakistan Prime Minister

Pakistan Muslim League selected Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to be the interim Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Nawaz Sharif recently resigned as Pakistan Prime Minister after the Supreme Court disqualified him from holding public office.

· Sri Lanka and China sign $1.1 billion Hambantota Port Deal.

Sri Lanka signed $1.1 billion deal to the United States of America to sell a 70% stake in the strategic Hambantota deep-sea port to China.
It is a deep-water port in the southern tip of Sri Lanka.
The deal was signed between Sri Lanka Ports Authority(SLPA) and China Merchants Port Holding Company (CMPort)
These sea lines run through several major maritime choke points such as the Strait of Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca and the Lombok Strait as well as other strategic maritime centres in Pakistan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Somalia.

· July 30 – United Nation’s World Day against Trafficking in Persons.

TheUnited Nations World Day against Trafficking in Personsis observed on 30 July across the world.
This year, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) selected ‘Act to Protect and Assist Trafficked Persons’ as the focus of the Day.
The theme aims at one of the most pressing issues of the largest mixed migration movements of refugees and migrants.

National

Indian Scientists develop Gelator to remove oil from spills.
Scientists from the Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research (IISER), Thiruvananthapuram have developed gelator that can suck up oil and congeal it. The gelator is hydrophobic material that has property of oleilophilic (oil-loving) and takes up oil when it comes in contact with it. It can be used to recover marine oil spills with a simple, efficient and cost-effective method.
It is developed using a cheap raw material mannitol and cellulose pulp through a one-step process.
‘Muntra’ – India’s first unmanned tank

Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)has developed India’s first unmanned tank, which has three variants namely surveillance, mine detection and reconnaissance in areas with nuclear and bio threats.
It is calledMuntra (Mission UNmanned TRAcked)and has been rolled out of the Chennai lab.
The tanks will facilitate Indian Armed forces in conducting unmanned surveillance missions. Muntra-S developed for unmanned surveillance missions, whereas Muntra-M is built for detecting mines.

Eight national waterways will be unveiled soon

As many as 32 new national waterways in the country have been considered technically feasible for development of shipping and navigation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon inaugurate eight national waterways (NW).

Out of 106 newly—declared national waterways (NWs), 32 NWs are considered technically feasible so far. Out of these 32 NWs, the development of seven NWs has been approved.

Centre plans to remote-map canals

The Centre plans to link all canals via a geographical information system that would allow them to be remotely mapped.

The Central government has earmarked Rs. 77,595 crore to states to complete a range of irrigation projects that have been stuck for decades owing to lack of funds, with the water ministry committed to ensuring that 99 such projects would be completed by 2020. Twenty-three would be completed by 2016-17 and 31 by 2017-18. One of the major reasons for the projects to remain incomplete was inadequate provision of funds by the concerned State governments.

Some of these canals could be hundreds of kilometres long and some much smaller.

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