Current Affairs 30th August 2018

Current Affairs 30th August 2018 - Important Points

• Projects worth Rs 150 crore for cleaning Ganga River and its banks approved by - NMCG
• Amendment bill to set up State Security Commission passed by - Punjab Assembly
• Union Government, World Bank and Rajasthan sign agreement to improve power distribution on - 28th August 2018
• New science and technology council to advise PM constituted - Government
• India, World Bank sign Loan agreement signed between World Bank and India on - 28th August 2018
• India, World Bank sign Loan agreement signed between World Bank and India on - 28th August 2018
• Assam declares entire state ‘disturbed’ on - 29th August 2018
• Third edition of ‘Smart India Hackathon’ launched by - HRD Ministry
• India wins gold in women's 4x400 relay, Jinson Johnson bags gold in 1500m in - Asian Games 2018

 Current Affairs 30th August 2018 - Details

Projects worth Rs 150 crore for cleaning Ganga River and its banks approved by - NMCG

The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) approved projects worth nearly Rs 150 crores on 28th August 2018 to clean Ganga River and its banks in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal under the Namami Gange program.
5th Executive Committee of the NMCG took this decision in New Delhi.

Important Details

• These projects will be including Interception and Diversion works where small rivers, rivulets and drains are intercepted before they empty  into the main river and are diverted to Sewage Treatment Plants, so that the water that finally drains into the main river is clean and totally free from any pollutants.
• Sewage Treatment Plants (STP)and development of Ghatsare also inlcuded in the projects.

Amendment bill to set up State Security Commission passed by - Punjab Assembly

The Punjab state assembly passed the Police (Amendment) Bill 2018 on 28th August 2018  that would pave a way to set up of a State Security Commission for selection of the director general of police (DGP).

The bill will be seeking to amend the Punjab Police Act 2007, which was enacted on 5th February 2008.
The act din't provide for selection of the DGP from the panel as prepared by the UPSC.

Key Provisions of the Amendment Bill

• Under the bill’s provisions, the state government shall be selecting the DGP from amongst the Indian Police Service from a panel of at least three eligible officers borne from Punjab or any state cadre.
• The following are the criterion for the selection of the eligible officers:
  - They should already be in the rank of director general or be eligible to hold this rank for appointment as the DGP.
  - They should be selected on the basis of their service record and level experience.
  - The officers should have a reasonable period of service left, which shall in no case be less than an year as on the date of appointment
• As per the Bill, the appointed DGP expected to have a tenure of not less than two years irrespective of his date of superannuation.

Union Government, World Bank and Rajasthan sign agreement to improve power distribution on - 28th August 2018

The Union Government, Rajasthan and the World Bank signed a USD 250 million Development Policy Loan (DPL) to support Rajasthan in improving the performance of its Electricity Distribution Sector under the State’s ‘24x7 Power for All’ program on 28th August 2018.

Sameer Kumar Khare, Joint Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, Union Ministry of Finance; P. Ramesh, Special Secretary of Rajasthan; and Hisham Abdo, Acting Country Director of World Bank India signed for project agreement.

World Bank’s loca for International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a 3 year grace period and a maturity of 21 years.

Key Highlights

• This ‘Second Programmatic Electricity Distribution Reform Development Policy Loan’ for Rajasthan is the second in the series of two operations planned for a comprehensive turnaround of Rajasthan’s electricity distribution sector. The First Loan was closed in March 2017.
• It will also be deepening the Institutional and Operational Reforms that were launched in late 2015 centered on the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana of the Union Government, which Rajasthan joined in 2016.
• It will also be intensifying reforms on the basis of the Rajasthan State Electricity Distribution Management Responsibility Act, with an aim to  reform the Governance of DISCOMs and bring greater public accountability in their functioning.
• It also supports the Union Government’s DELP(Domestic Efficient Lighting Program), under which more than 15 million LED lamps have been distributed in the State.
• It will be continuing to support the ongoing reforms that the distribution companies are making for a financial turnaround.

New science and technology council to advise PM constituted - Government

The Union Government has constituted a 21-member science and technology council to advise Prime Minister Narendra Modi on matters related to technology, science and innovations.
The council, named as Prime Minister's Science Technology and Innovation Advisory Committee will be headed by K Vijay Raghavan, the principal scientific  adviser to the Union Government.

Key Details

• The panel will be advising the Prime Minister on all matters related to science, technology and innovation and monitor the implementation of PM’s vision on the same.
• It will be facilitating the formulation and implementation of policies and decisions and provide action-oriented and future preparedness advise and assist in directing  science and technology to solve the socio-economic problems in the country.
• It is also aiming to lay special emphasis on driving innovation in education and research.

India, World Bank sign Loan agreement signed between World Bank and India on - 28th August 2018

A $220 million Loan agreement of $80 million guarantee amount is agreed in the Mou signed between The World Bank and The Union Government for the India Energy Efficiency Scale-Up program on August 28, 2018.

The Energy Efficiency Services Limited will going to implement the plan and will also help scale-up the deployment of energy saving measures in residential and public sectors, strengthen institutional capacity of EESL and enhance its access to commercial financing.

Sameer Kumar Khare, Joint Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance and Hisham Abdo, Acting Country Director of World Bank India, signed the said agreement.

Important Highlights

• The program would majorly be covering the financing, awareness, technical and capacity barriers faced by new energy efficiency programmes and support the Union Government’s UJALA program.
• It will be helping to increase private sector participation in energy efficiency, including through private sector energy service companies.
• The EESL will be deploying 219 million LED bulbs and tube lights, 5.8 million ceiling fans, and 7.2 million street lightsin this program which will be supplied by private sector manufacturers and suppliers.
• The investments to be done in the same program are expected to help to avoid lifetime greenhouse gas emissions of 170 million tons of Carbn dioxide and contribute to avoide an estimated 10 GW of additional generation capacity.
• Above 50 percent of the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency target of 19.6 GW is indicated in India’s Nationally Determined Contributions  under the Paris Accord.

Assam declares entire state ‘disturbed’ on - 29th August 2018

The Assam government issued a notification declaring the entire state as “a disturbed area” and extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers)  Act (AFSPA) for six more months in the state on 29th August, 2018.

The extension of the AFSPA comes as a precautionary measure in order to maintain order during the ongoing roll-out of the National Register of Citizens. The final draft NRC is likely to be published by 2018 end. Though the situation in the state is peaceful at the moment, but the state government took the decision to not to withdraw AFSPA until NRC exercise is over.

In September 2017, the Central Government delegated the power to Assam and Manipur to impose or withdraw AFSPA. Earlier on 1st April 2018, the AFSPA was completely  removed from Meghalaya and some areas of Arunachal Pradesh.

Third edition of ‘Smart India Hackathon’ launched by - HRD Ministry

The third edition of world’s biggest open innovation model ‘Smart India Hackathon 2019’ was launched by the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Prakash Javadekar on 29th August 2018 in New Delhi.

The 2019 edition is a nationwide initiative aiming to provide students with a platform to solve some of the pressing problems faced by people in their daily lives and hence to inculcate a culture of product innovation and problem-solving mindset.

Important Highlights

• The SIH-2019 is expected to witness participation for more than 1 lakh students from around 3000 institutions across the nation.
• The students will be getting the opportunity to work on challenges faced by the public sector organisations and the union ministries.
• For the first time, the event will also be including problem statements from the private sector and non-governmental organisations.

India wins gold in women's 4x400 relay, Jinson Johnson bags gold in 1500m in - Asian Games 2018

India's gold medal account on 12th Day of the 18th Asian Games opened with Jinson Johnson, who finished it first with a time of 3:44:72 in the men's 1500m final. Johnson, who had won the silver in 800m, bagged the gold this time, while Manjit Singh, who won the gold in 800m and finished being fourth.

India's second gold of the day came through the Indian women's relay team who clinched the top position in the women's 4x400 relay finals. Hima Das gave India  the lead at first and the other three racers - MR Poovamma, SL Gayakwad and V Koroth- maintained it right till the end. India took the first place with a timing of 3:28:72.

In the women's 1500m final, P Chitra awarded the bronze medal after she finished the race with a time of 4:12:56. Team India's first bronze medal in athletics came  through Seema Punia, who with a throw of 62.26 finished at the 3rd sport in women's discus throw finals. The other Indian in the competition, Sandeep Kumari, finished at fifth.

India's hopes for a medal in men's hockey fell with the Indian men's hockey team losing to Malaysia 6-7 in the penalty-shootouts after the match ended 2-2 in regular time. India's medal tally now stands at 58 medals including 13 gold, 20 silver and 25 bronze with the results.