UTTARAKHAND
- Sanctuaries in Himalayan states soon to preserve depleting water resources
- The country’s first water sanctuary pilot project, 11 states of the Himalayan region as well as Jammu and Kashmir are likely to get ‘water sanctuaries’ soon. These water resources are being geo-mapped by scientists, hydrologists and geologists.
The 11 states – Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, seven north eastern states along with West Bengal and Assam – would get a water sanctuary in one district each. - Of the 12 districts that have been selected for conserving water, scientists have identified three districts – Champawat of Uttarakhand, Dema Hesao of Assam and Darjeeling of West Bengal – based on their own scientific criteria while the remaining nine districts such as Kupwara of Jammu and Kashmir and Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh have been selected according to the Niti Aayog’s ‘aspirational district’ list.
INTERNATIONAL
· Kristalina Georgieva appointed new IMF chief
- Bulgaria’s Kristalina Georgieva has been selected as the new head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- She is the first person from an emerging market economy to lead the IMF.
- The economist succeeds Christine Lagarde for a five-year term from October.
· INDO-KAZAKHSTAN Joint Military Exercise KAZIND – 2019
- Joint Military Exercise KAZIND-2019 between India and Kazakhstan will be conducted at Pithoragarh from 02 to 15 October 2019.
- The exercise will comprise of nearly 100 soldiers from both Indian and Kazakhstan Army who would be sharing their experience gained during conduct of various counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations in the past.
- Exercise KAZIND-2019 is the fourth edition of an annual event which is conducted alternatively in Kazakhstan and India.
- The aim of this exercise is to conduct company level joint training with emphasis on counter terrorism operations in mountainous terrain.
· Nepal Central Bank releases 3 coins to mark Guru Nanak Dev’s birth anniversary
ð The Central Bank of Nepal released three coins to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sikh Guru Nanak Dev.
ð The coins with denomination of NPR (Nepali Rupees) 100, 1000 and 2500 were jointly launched by Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Chiranjibi Nepal and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri at Hotel Aloft in Kathmandu .
ð The coins possess monetary value and its sale will start from September 30, the NRB said. “Proud to be a Sikh today. Proud to be a follower of Guru Nanak Dev.
Sikhs residing in every part of the world that too in large numbers.
NATIONAL
- Payal Jangid became the First Indian to Win Changemaker Award
- 17-year-old Payal Jangid from Rajasthan became the first Indian to receive the Changemaker Award by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
- Payal, who is from Hinsla village, about 100 kms from Jaipur, has been conferred with the award for her continuous dedication towards the abolition of child marriage in her village, which is a child-friendly village (Bal Mitra Gram), as well as in neighbouring villages.
- According to Payal, her activism and fight to abolish child marriage began at the age of 11, when she had to relent against being married off.
- Infosys wins UN Global Climate Action Award for ‘carbon neutral now’ category
- Digital services and consulting major Infosys has won the United Nations Global Climate Action Award in ‘carbon neutral now’ category.
- It became the only Indian corporate to earn the recognition for its efforts to combat climate change.
- The award will be presented to Infosys at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) at Santiago in Chile during December.
- Infosys began its action to combat climate change in 2008 with an assessment of its carbon footprint.
- Rajnath Singh commissions INS Khanderi into Indian Navy
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissioned INS Khanderi, the second of Kalvari Class diesel-electric attack submarines of the Indian Navy in Mumbai.
- The name Khanderi is inspired by the dreaded ‘Sword Tooth Fish’ a deadly fish known to hunt whilst swimming close to the bottom of the ocean
- INS Khanderi is the second of Kalvari Class diesel electric attack submarines of the Indian Navy.
- INS Khanderi is the follow-on to INS Kalvari, which was the first of the French origin Scorpene class submarines being indigenously constructed in India and commissioned by the Prime Minister in 2017.
- Rajnath Singh launches Navy’s first new stealth frigate, INS ‘Nilgiri’
- Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh launched INS ‘Nilgiri’, the first of the Navy’s seven new stealth frigates, at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in Mumbai.
- INS Nilgiri is the first ship of Project 17A.
- Project 17A frigates is a design derivative of the Shivalik class stealth frigates with much more advanced stealth features and indigenous weapons and sensors.
- The P17A frigates incorporate new design concepts for improved survivability, sea keeping, stealth and ship manoeuvrability.
· Govt to launch enterprise development centres for MSMEs in all districts
- Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi launched a support and outreach programme for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) The Prime Minister unveiled 12 key initiatives which will help in the growth, expansion and facilitation of MSMEs across the country.
- The Loans upto 1 crore within 59 minutes through an online portal.Interest subvention of 2% for all GST registered MSMEs on fresh or incremental loans.
All companies with a turnover of more than 500 crores to be mandatorily on TReDS platform to enable entrepreneurs to access credit from banks, based on their upcoming receivables thus solving the problems of cash cycle.
- All PSUs to compulsorily procure 25 percent from MSMEs instead of 20 percent of their total purchases. Out of the 25 percent procurement mandated from MSMEs, 3 percent reserved for women entrepreneurs.All CPSUs to compulsorily procure through GeM portal.The100 Technology Centres to be established at the cost of Rs 6000 crores. The Govt. of India to bear 70 percent of the cost for establishing Pharma clusters.
- The Returns under 8 labour laws and 10 Union regulations to be filed once in a year.
· Pilot Project for ushering in Industry 4.0 in the country is launched
- A Pilot Project for ushering in the Industry 4.0in the country, is launched for implementation at the Modern Coach Factory (MCF), Raebareli.
The Ministry of Railways and Department of Science & Technology have joined hands in partnership with IIT Kanpur for taking up a unique project on Industry 4.0 launching a Pilot Project for implementation at Modern Coach Factory, Raebareli.
- ‘Industry 4.0’ commonly referred to as the fourth industrial revolution, is a name given to the current trend of automation, interconnectivity and data exchange in manufacturing technologies to increase productivity. Industry 4.0 is a complex Cyber-Physical Systems which synergizes production with digital technologies, the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data & Analytics, Machine Learning and Cloud Computing.