Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 29 NOVEMBER 2018

::NATIONAL::

Centre to hold review of urban missions in North East regions

Minister of State(I/C) Housing & Urban Affairs will be reviewing the progress of Urban Missions in the eight States of North-Eastern region on 1st Dec 2018. A day prior to that, Secretary of the Ministry and National Mission Directors of Urban Missions will be holding review meetings with senior officials of these states in respect of various Missions of the Housing Ministry which have been launched by the central government since 2014.
Implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Smart City Mission, all launched on June 25, 2015 and Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) launched on October 2, 2014 besides the continuing 10% Lump Sum Scheme for North-East and North-Eastern Region Urban Development Programme(NERUDP) and DAY-NULM besides progress of RERA will be reviewed over two days.
Under PMAY (Urban), Ministry of HUA has approved construction of 2,30,000 affordable houses for urban poor in the eight States of N-E during the last about 4 years.
Twelve towns of N-E States have been included in the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation for Urban Transformation (AMRUT) for providing water taps to all urban households besides improving water supply to the normative level of 135 litres per capita per day.
Manipur, Mizoram and Sikkim have achieved ODF status. 98 towns in NE have become Open Defecation Free(ODF), and 47,880 Individual Household toilets and 2310 Community & Public toilets have been constructed under the Mission. Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim have achieved 100% Door to Door collection of garbage.
Minister of Shipping addresses the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference
Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Shipping & Road Transport has said that India endorses the growth of the Blue Economy in a sustainable, inclusive and people centred manner through the framework of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).
He said the Blue Economy remains a critical aspect of India’s economic development agenda, and more than 95% of our trade is being carried on by sea. The Minister was speaking at the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference in Nairobi today. Kenya is hosting the two day conference with Canada and Japan as co-hosts.
Emphasizing the importance that India lays on developing its maritime resources Shri Gadkari said that our National Vision in this regard is clearly articulated in the term “SAGAR”- Security and Growth for All in the Region coined by our Prime Minister.
He talked about the government’s ambitious Sagarmala Programme and how it is poised to revolutionize maritime logistics and port led developments in India. He said the programme has identified 600 plus projects entailing a huge investment of $120 billion (around Rs 8 lakh crore) by 2020.
He further informed that the programme is also focussing on the development of coastal communities and people through skill gap analysis, skill development centres to train coastal communities in the sustainable use of ocean resources, modern fishing techniques and coastal tourism.
Shri Gadkari further highlighted the development of electric cars and vehicles in India which could have market in Kenya. He also offered to encourage Indian car manufacturers to set up assembly plants in Kenya for the African market.

::ECONOMY::

RBI launches survey to gauge the scope of start up sector

With an aim to create a profile of India’s startup sector, the Reserve Bank has launched a survey to gauge their scope with respect to turnover, profitability and workforce.
A RBI press release issued from Mumbai on Tuesday informed that the survey would also throw light on the problems faced by the startup sector.
RBI said the survey forms have been mailed to all startup entities registered with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.
It adds that other start-ups whose location details could not be verified or those who have recently registered can also participate in the survey by downloading the form from RBI’s website. RBI has said that individual responses or identity of respondents will not be revealed.

Centre urges textile industry to boost exports

Union Minister of Commerce Shri Suresh Prabhu, urged the textiles industry to prepare a road map in order to tap into the export market. Addressing a Global Conclave of Confederation of IndianTextile Industry in New Delhi today, Suresh Prabhu said that Government is willingto extend all possible support to the textiles industry.
Suresh Prabhu said that the contribution from textiles and apparel can be increased by scaling up and increasing investments into the industry along with cost optimization and vertical integration.Investing in new and more efficient technologies and processes will lead to more superior products.
The Minister said that the Indian textile industry should modernize their approach as well as the technologies and gain competitive advantage over neighboring countries and diversify product range across the value chain.The Minister said that the Commerce Ministry is making all efforts to onboard all line ministries for greater synergy in order to promote exports.
The minister further said that textiles industry should look forward to exporting their products to countries other than the US and EU. For this, the Government of India has been making all efforts in identifying potential export partners and strengthening relationships with them.
Suresh Prabhu said that a free trade agreement with EU would relieve the pressure on the industry and enhance competitiveness. The Government is also looking to fast track negotiations of Free Trade Agreements with EU and Australia.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

::INTERNATIONAL::

India seeks verifiable actions to end terrorism

India today called for verifiable actions to end terror safe havens, sanctuaries outside Afghanistan for sustainable peace, prosperity and stability of the war-torn country.
Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh said in Geneva today that India supports all efforts for a political settlement in Afghanistan which are inclusive, promote unity, security, democracy and build a self-reliant and prosperous country.
Participating in the Ministerial Conference on Afghanistan in Geneva Mr. Singh said for sustainable peace, prosperity and stability it is equally important that the international community continue to support the Afghan government, the people and the National Defence Forces of Afghanistan to combat terror and violence imposed on them and ensure that verifiable actions are taken to end safe havens and sanctuaries outside Afghanistan.
Condemning the "mindless terrorist violence" against the Afghan population, Singh said the people of Afghanistan yearn for peace, security and stability.
External Affairs also reaffirmed India's commitment to the rebuilding and reconstruction of Afghanistan. He also reiterated India's development assistance commitment of over USD 3 billion to Afghanistan in keeping with Kabul's priorities under its National Peace and Development Framework.
On the margins of the Geneva conference, Singh separately called on Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah. He also held bilateral meetings with foreign ministers of Norway and Hungary.

EU sets climate neutral goal to be achieved by 2050.

The European Union has urged government, businesses, citizens and regions to join it in an ambitious plan to cut emissions and make the bloc carbon neutral by 2050.
EU climate commissioner Miguel Arias Canete said in a press conference in Brussels today that block is kicking off a process to determine how Europe's energy and climate policy will evolve between now and 2050.
He said member states will submit their draft national climate and energy plans to the EU by the end of 2018. Canete said while more homes will be insulated and transport will be modernised, the key plank of any successful strategy will be to reduce fossil fuel use in energy production by 80 per cent by 2050.
Delegations from more than 200 countries are due in Poland next week for the latest COP24 climate summit, aimed at renewing and building on the Paris deal and limiting global warming.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

ISRO to launch HySiS satellite today

The Indian Space Research Organization, ISRO will launch the satellite HysIS Thursday morning from its spaceport at Sriharikota.
Its workhorse rocket PSLV-C43 will lift off with the satellite at 09.58 hours on Thrusday. 30 other micro and nano-satellites of international customers from eight nations will also ride piggyback on it.
The countdown for the launch mission is progressing smoothly, as per the schedule. The HysIS will capture the images of the whole earth in multiple frequencies with the mission life of over five years.
It can provide global coverage and provide valuable data on agriculture, forestry, geological environments, coastal zones and inland waters. This will be the second launch mission for the ISRO this month.

::SPORTS::

India beats South Africa in World Cup hockey

The long road to India’s World Cup dreams began with a not-so-perfect 5-0 win against South Africa on Wednesday with a scoreline that might indicate superiority but failed to justify the extent of it.
Statistics may be too drab a way to explain the match on the opening day of the 14th edition of the marquee tournament but there is no denying India’s dominance.
India knew it would have a 12th man on the field at all times and it was not disappointed. The 15,000 capacity crowd at the Kalinga Stadium roared in unison every time a blue jersey had the ball, and the South Africans admitted they took time to adjust to the atmosphere.
India next takes on Belgium on Sunday, the letter managing a close 2-1 win against Canada in the day’s other game. It may be not be an indicator of who would start favourite then but did make it clear that there were no favourites in the competition, for now.