Current Affairs 3rd January 2019

Current Affairs 3rd January 2019 - Important Points

• Renaming Allahabad to “Prayagraj” approved by - The Union Home Ministry 
• Krishak Bandhu scheme of West Bengal declared by - The government of West Bengal 
• New chairman for the Ordnance Factory Board - Saurabh Kumar
• India-Pakistan exchange list of Nuclear Installations as per - Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations & Facilities
• Justice AK Sikri nominated as Executive Chairman of NALSA by -  President Ram Nath Kovind
  Current Affairs 3rd January 2019 - Details

Renaming Allahabad to “Prayagraj” approved by - The Union Home Ministry 

The Union Home Ministry has permitted the proposal of the UP Government to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj.
Name change proposal
The government of UP has informed that it is re-establishing the original name of the city. The government informs that the city was rechristened during the sovereignty of Mughal Emperor Akbar. Akbar named the city Illahabas, meaning the abode of God.
Formerly, renaming by Akbar, the city was called as Prayag. Medieval texts, counting Akbar’s court historian Abul Fazl, named the city as Piyag.
Procedure for changing Names
The suggestions of the states would be scrutinised by the Union Home Ministry as per to the current strategies in consultations with concerned agencies. The Ministry sanctions the proposal after taking NOC from the Ministry of Railways, Department of Posts &Survey of India, which authorizes that there is no such city/town/village in their records with a name same as to the projected one. Then an executive order is approved on the renaming of cities.

Krishak Bandhu scheme of West Bengal declared by - The government of West Bengal 

The government of West Bengal has declared the Krishak Bandhu scheme to address the farm distress in the state.
Features of the Scheme
The West Bengal government will issue yearly financial help of Rupees 5000/acre in two instalments,
including 1 during Kharif & 2nd during Rabi season. Farmers can also avail the financial help at one go.
The scheme also delivers for a life insurance cover of Rupees 200000 in case of death, irrespective of the reason, of an earning farmer aged between 18-60 years. Framers are not needed to pay any premium to gain the insurance advantage.
The scheme would cover 72 lakh farmer & share-cropper families in the State.
Financial burden on the exchequer
The average land holding per farmer in West Bengal is attached at about 1.2 acres. Hence the average
financial aid to a farmer would calculate about Rupees 6000. To even cover 50 lakh farmers, the burden
on the exchequer would be Rupees 3000 Crore.

New chairman for the Ordnance Factory Board - Saurabh Kumar

Saurabh Kumar has been designated as the Director General of Ordnance Factories & chairman of the Ordnance Factory Board in Kolkata.
Indian Ordnance Factories
Indian Ordnance Factories organisation is a family of 41 Ordnance Factories under the sponsorship of its corporate HQ Ordnance Factory Board, Kolkata. It is salaried under the sponsorship of Ministry of
Defence. The ordnance factories arrange a combined base for the indigenous production of defence hardware & tools. The primary aim of the ordnance factories is attaining self-reliance in preparing the armed forces with state-of-the-art battlefield equipment.
More about Saurabh Kumar

• Saurabh Kumar is a 1982 batch Indian Ordnance Factory Service officer has completed his M-Tech in mechanical engineering from IIT, Kanpur.
• Saurabh Kumar has worked in the Ministry of Defence as the director of planning & co-ordination from 2002-2009.
• He has played a contributory role in drafting the Indian offset policy for defence purchases & the “Make” process in the Defence Procurement Procedure of 2003-2004 during his tenure in the Defence Ministry.
• Saurabh Kumar has also worked as the GM of the Engine Factory at Avadi, was involved in
  operationalising the project & starting an indigenisation program which finished in the handing over of completely indigenous engines of T-90 “Bhishma” & T-72 “Ajeya” tanks to the Raksha Mantri in July 2018.

India-Pakistan exchange list of Nuclear Installations as per - Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations & Facilities

Both India & Pakistan have interchanged their list of nuclear installations. The inter-change was in
agreement with the Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations & Facilities
between Pakistan & India.
Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations & Facilities

• The Agreement was inked between India & Pakistan on 31st December 1988 at Islamabad & came into force on 27th January 1991.
• Both India & Pakistan would exhortation from undertaking, inspiring/participating in, directly/indirectly, any action intended at causing the destruction of, or damage to, any nuclear installation/facility in the other nation.
• Both India & Pakistan will notify each other about their nuclear installations and facilities on 1 January each year & also whenever there is any change.
• Both nations have accepted the agreement as part of their actions to uphold durable peace & progress friendly & pleasant-sounding bilateral ties.

Justice AK Sikri nominated as Executive Chairman of NALSA by -  President Ram Nath Kovind

President Ram Nath Kovind has designated Justice A.K.Sikri as Executive Chairman of National Legal
Services Authority- NALSA. He will be replacing Justice Madan B Lokur.
National Legal Services Authority

• The NALSA has been formed under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to deliver free Legal
  Services to the weaker sections of the society.
• National Legal Services Authority was formed to fulfil the provisions under the Article 39A of the
  constitution which provides for free legal assistance to the poor & weaker sections of the society, to encourage justice on the basis of equal opportunity.
• National Legal Services Authority plans Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes.
• The roles of the National Legal Services Authority also include spreading legal literacy & awareness, undertaking social justice proceedings.
• The CJI is the Patron-in-Chief & the Senior most Judge of the Supreme Court of India is the Executive Chairman of the Authority.
• National Legal Services Authority identifies detailed categories of the marginalized and excepted groups from the diverse populace of the nation & frames various schemes for the implementation of preventive &strategic legal service programs to be undertaken & executed by the Legal Services Authorities at the various levels.
• National Legal Services Authority works in close co-ordination with the various State Legal Services
  Authorities, District Legal Services Authorities & other interventions for a regular exchange of
  appropriate data, monitoring & updating on the execution & progress of the various schemes.