President's Secretariat *The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the centenary conference of the Indian Economic Association in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. *President said that India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. *Without growth there can be no development and little scope for redistribution. *And yet, while growth is necessary, it is not sufficient.
*To tackle the inequities in our society, to overcome the social and economic inequalities between different sections and even different regions, requires imaginative policy making. *The President said that significant numbers of our fellow citizens still live in poverty or very close to poverty. *They have insufficient access to health-care, education, housing and civic amenities. *This is particularly true for traditionally weaker sections of society, such as SCs, STs, segments of OBCs and of course women. *We also have to treat investment in health and education as investment in human capital a critical building block for our economy.
Ministry of Labour & Employment *Government has developed an online portal PENCIL (Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour) which was launched on 26.9.2017. *Purpose: to provide a mechanism for both enforcement of the provisions of Child & Adolescent Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 and effective implementation of the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme for rehabilitation of child & adolescent labour.
*Main components of PENCIL portal are complaint corner, child & adolescent labour tracking system, NCLP and State Resource Centre which are connected with the Ministry of Labour & Employment. *Further, the data obtained on the portal is to be shared with Ministry of Women & Child Development, Ministry of Human Resource Development and Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. *At the State Government level the monitoring is to be done by State Resource Centre established at State Labour Department. *At district level District Nodal Officers (DNOs) are nominated to take action on the complaints of their respective districts.
Ministry of Defence *In view of the fly-past at heights varying from 60 to 500 meters and the associated flight safety concerns posted by birds, the IAF appeals to all citizens of Delhi and its neighbourhood to keep their areas clean and avoid throwing eatables, garbage, dead animals or carcasses in the open in all the days leading upto 26 January. *Responsible citizens are also requested to alert the nearest Air Force Unit or Police Station and report instances of carcasses found in the open.
Ministry of Food Processing Industries *It has been the endeavor of the Government to promote food processing industry in the country to reduce wastage of agricultural produce and minimize post- harvest losses. *The objective of Scheme of Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure: is to provide integrated cold chain and preservation infrastructure facilities from the farm gate to the market in order to arrest post-harvest losses of horticulture & non-horticulture produce. *Under the scheme, financial assistance is provided in the form of grantin-aid of maximum Rs10 crore per project for setting up of integrated cold chain and preservation infrastructure facilities.
*The Integrated cold chain and preservation infrastructure can be set up by individuals, groups of entrepreneurs, cooperative societies, Self Help Groups (SHGs), Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), NGOs, Central/State PSUs, etc. *The scheme is primarily private sector driven and proposals under this scheme are invited through Expression of Interest (EOI). *Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) *Scheme for holistic development of Horticulture which provides assistance for creation of post harvest management infrastructure including setting up of staging cold room and cold storage for perishable horticulture produce in rural areas.
Ministry of Labour & Employment *The Unorganized Workers Social Security Act, 2008, defines an unorganized worker and provides for a self-declaration by such worker confirming that he or she is an unorganized worker. *There is no centralized national database of unorganized workers in India. *Accordingly, it has been decided to create a national platform for unorganized workers. *A proposal to issue a Unique ID i.e. Unorganized Workers Identification Number (UWIN) and allotment of a Aadhaar seeded Identification number to them without issuing any smart card, has been approved by the Central Government with an estimated cost of Rs. 402.7 Crore to be implemented in two years during 2017-18 and 2018-19.
Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises *Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has launched the Udyami Mitra Portal (www.udyamimitra.in) to improve accessibility of credit and handholding services to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). *Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) have been advised to ensure a target of 7.5% of Adjusted Net Bank Credit (ANBC) for Micro Enterprises, that collateral security is not required for loans upto Rs. 10 lakh to MSE sector, a simplified working capital requirement for MSEs. *This Press Release is based on information given by the Minister of State for MSME Shri Giriraj Singh in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 27.12.2017(Wednesday)
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*Govt. of India and State Governments are trying their best to put public over private transport. *It has the potential to significantly reduce demand for petroleum products, speedily drive down crude oil imports, and lead to a host of related benefits like reduced pollution and better traffic flows going forward. *It would also improve the trade balance, boost public health and help India meet its climate goals as well. *It does not work in silos. It works at its best when it is integrated.
*Most of the time investment in public transportation systems are carried out more as an afterthought, to simply try and cope with everburgeoning demand for commuting and transport. *It results in haphazard transport planning, which, in turn, misallocates resources and overburdens the system. *As India grows fast, with industry and service growing much faster than farm output, more and more people will migrate to towns some 25 crore people, if half of India becomes urban over the next 15-20 years. *They have to be accommodated in new towns: existing towns cannot absorb such huge numbers.
*They have to be accommodated in new towns: existing towns cannot absorb such huge numbers. *These new towns must be planned to minimise commutes and use public transport for such commutes cannot be averted. *Common payment means for bus, train, taxi and shared bike rides would encourage multimodal public transport. *Dense, vertical towns with mixed land use would put residences, work, education, healthcare and entertainment spaces within close proximity to one another, and build in large playgrounds and green spaces as well.
*The way ahead is to plan and invest in metro rail systems in such urban centres, and also provide efficient feeder bus services for seamless multimodal transport. *Planning must provide for energy-efficient personal transport for segments that cannot be catered to by trains and buses. *Shared vehicles bring down energy consumption. *Electric cars and bikes can be shared using a combination of geotagging and phone-based activation/aggregation. *This, of course, will call for proactive policy for ubiquitous broadband access.
1. First European to designate Aryan as a race? A. William Jones B. HH Wislon C. Max Muller D. General Cunningham 2. Indian National Congress was founde by A. Womesh Chandra Banerjee B. Michael Hume C. Allan Octavian Hume D. Mahatma Gandhi
1. Vikramashila Mahavihara was established by the ruler of A. Pushyabhuti dynasty B. Barman dynasty C. Sen dynasty D. Pala dynasty 2. Which of the following is not a member of OPEC A. Algeria B. Brazil C. Ecuador D. Nigeria 3. Insignia of RBI has which animal in it? A. Lion B. Panther C. Tiger D. Elephant
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