Current Affairs January 1, 2018

NATIONAL

Haryana Government launches ‘Bhavantar BharpayeeYojana’ for vegetable growers

The Haryana government has launched ‘Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojana’,  assuring farmers of fair prices for their produce and emphasising on diversification of crops. A separate fund would be constituted by the state government for this scheme.

The state government would compensate the difference in price when prices in market will go below the mentioned prices.

The farmers would have to got themselves registered on Bhavantar Bharpayee website or in the office of Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board that he has been sowing the crop which would be confirmed by an officer appointed for this purpose that the farmer has produced the crop.

Haryana

Capital: Chandigarh

Chief Minister: Manohar Lal Khattar

Governor: Kaptan Singh Solanki

Assam Gets Rs 1,250 Cr Central Fund For Inland Water Transport

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announced that Rs. 1,250 crore has been sanctioned for overall development of inland water transport of Assam.

The State water resources department to involve a foreign consultant, if required, for preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR) within three months.

Infrastructural development will also be brought about at the terminals at Bogibeel, Nematighat, Kamalabari, Silghat, Jogighopa, Silchar, Dhubri and Pandu.

Assam

Capital: Dispur

Chief Minister: Sarbananda Sonowal

Governor: Jagdish Mukhi

Nepal bans Solo Climbing on Mount Everest

Nepal has banned solo climbers from scaling its mountains, including Mount Everest, in a bid to reduce accidents.

The new safety regulations also prohibit double amputee and blind climbers from attempting to reach the summit of the world’s highest peak without a valid medical certificate. The law had been revised to make mountaineering safer and to decrease deaths.

World-renowned Swiss climber Ueli Steck, who was known as the “Swiss Machine”, also died during a solo climb to a peak neighbouring Everest. Avtar Singh Cheema was the first Indian to climb Mount Everest successfully.

Nepal

Capital: Kathmandu

Currency: Nepalese Rupee

Prime Minister: Sher Bahadur Dueba

Canal-top solar plant to be commissioned in Kochi Airport

In August 2015, the Cochin International Airport Ltd, which runs the airport of Kochi, Kerala, commissioned its 12 MW solar power plant, it earned the distinction of becoming the world’s first airport to meet all of its electricity requirements from solar.

In November, 4.5 MW of the canal-top project was commissioned and the rest will be commissioned any time now, according to P Jose Thomas, General Manager, CIAL. When that happens, the airport’s solar capacity will stand raised to 30 MW, the largest in the country.

To retain its distinction as a fully solar-powered airport, CIAL has alongside been expanding its solar power capacity. Part of the expansion is a 6-MW canal-top solar project, on the Chengaltodu canal which runs through the airport.

The project is one of the larger canal-top projects in the country and was built for CIAL by Bosch Energy and Building Solutions, part of Bosch India, for 6.25 crore a MW.

INTERNATIONAL

Israel Withdraws from UNESCO

Israel has filed notice to withdraw from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) alongside the United States.Israel has blasted UNESCO in recent years over the organisation’s criticism of Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem and its decision to grant full membership to Palestine in 2011.

Israel was the member of UNESCO since 1949. Both Israel and the US have filed its own withdrawal notice in October 2017.

UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Director General:  Audrey Azoulay

Headquarters: Paris, France

APPOINTMENTS

NC Goel appointed as new Chief secretary of Rajasthan

Senior IAS officer N C Goel was appointed the new Chief Secretary of Rajasthan. Goel, a 1982-batch IAS officer, earlier held the charge of Additional Chief Secretary of Forest and Environment, Tourism, Art and Culture Department, Mines and Petroleum departments.

Rajasthan

Capital: Jaipur

Chief Minister: Vasundhara Raje

Governor: Kalyan Singh

BUSINESS

IDBI Bank Gets Rs.2,729 Crore from Government

Public sector IDBI Bank has received the capital infusion of Rs 2,729 crore from the government of India. The government had unveiled a Rs 2.11 lakh crore two-year roadmap for strengthening NPA-hit public sector banks earlier in Oct2017.

The help includes re-capitalisation bonds, budgetary support, and equity dilution. The stock of the bank closed 0.83% down at Rs 59.85 on the BSE.

IDBI Bank

MD and CEO: Mahesh Kumar Jain

Headquarter: Mumbai

Soil Health Cards help save urea usage 10%

Around 10 crore soil health cards have been issued, and farmers who use these have managed to save use of urea by 8-10 per cent announced by Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh. This also led to increase in productivity of cultivable land, he said while addressing 117th Annual General Meeting of Bharat Chamber of Commerce.

Some 40 lakh-odd soil health cards have been issued in West Bengal. Indian farmers are often said to over-use urea as it is cheaper and highly subsidised compared with other macro-nutrients such as phosphorous and potassium fertilisers. Over-use affects crop productivity.

Accordingly, the soil health card will list the nutrients in the soil alongside physical parameters (like measuring acidity or alkalinity) and will have an advisory on the correct fertiliser dose that will give every farmer the optimum yield.

SPORTS

Indian golfer Shiv Kapur wins Royal Cup at Pattay

Indian golfer Shiv Kapur won the Royal Cup at Pattaya, which is his third Asian Tour title of 2017. Kapur first won on Asian Tour in his debut season in December 2005.

Kapur, the only multiple winner on Asian Tour this year, is also the only Indian to have won three times on Asian Tour. Now he has won three times in eight months. This latest win marks Kapur’s fourth Asian Tour win and sixth international title as he won twice on European Challenge Tour also.