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Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Yojana Launched

Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan or Yojana is a new initiative of the Narendra Modi Government launched on June 9, 2016. 
тЧП    The scheme has been launched with the objective of boosting the health care facilities for the pregnant women, especially the poor.
тЧП    Under the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan, the pregnant ladies will be given free health check-up and required treatment for free on 9th of every month. 
тЧП    The scheme will be applicable for pregnant women to avail in all Government hospitals across the country.
тЧП    All kinds of medical checkups under the scheme will be completely free.
тЧП    Tests will take place at the medical centre
тЧП    es, government and private hospitals and private clinics across the country.

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Andhra Pradesh Tops World Bank's Energy-saving Rankings

World Bank declared Andhra Pradesh as No 1 in India in energy efficiency.
тЧП    Principal secretary, energy, Ajay Jain said that the state will now get global recognition and energy-efficiency programmes will be put on fast track. 
тЧП    The WB felt that political will, visionary leadership and result-oriented approach of the state administration had helped AP achieve the first rank. 
тЧП    AP achieved an overall score of 42.01 followed by Rajasthan 41.89, Karnataka 39.34 and Maharashtra 39.29.
тЧП    The ranks were released in Delhi by World Bank executive director Subhash Chandra Garg during an ongoing international conference on Friday.
тЧП    EESL managing director Saurabh Kumar said the spurt in demand for LED bulbs distributed by AP under the UJALA scheme has resulted in free fall of LED prices.

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Mcr-1 isolated in India

Indian researchers have isolated a strain of E.Coli bacteria, carrying a new gene (mcr -1)
тЧП    It is resistant to the last mile antibiotic the human race currently has access to — colistin
тЧП    While colistin resistance had already  been detected in India, it existed thus far only as mutations in the chromosomal/genetic path
тЧП    With mcr-1, however, the gene is found in the plasmid medium, a small DNA molecule outside of the chromosomal DNA
тЧП    This means the infection can spread in hospitals, and the community
тЧП    MCR-1 is a genetic mechanism by which the mcr-1 gene confers the first known plasmid-mediated resistance to colistin, a polymixin and one of a number of last-resort antibiotics.

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Maharashtra First State to Launch Cyber Police Stations in all Districts

Maharashtra has become the first state in the country to have a cyber-police station in each district to take on cyber criminals. 
тЧП    In this regard, state government is converting 42 state-of-the-art cybercrime labs into cyber police stations simultaneously. 
тЧП    These cyber police stations will also be set up at police commissionerate and Range IG offices. 
тЧП    Any offence related to cybercrime will be registered in these police stations at district level. 
тЧП    Additional cyber police stations will also be set up in some cities. 
тЧП    The cyber-crime wing of Maharashtra government had proposed to set up 51 cyber-crime labs across the state take on cyber criminals. 
тЧП    These included 34 labs at the district level, 7 labs at Inspector General’s offices, 9 labs at Commissioner of Police offices and 1 lab at the state police headquarters. 
 

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India's first titanium project in Odisha

The first titanium project of India has started its test production Ganjam district of Odisha. 
тЧП    The project has been established by Saraf Group. 
тЧП    This is first of its kind titanium plant and the only one in the country. 
тЧП    During the test run, one of its four furnaces became functional. 
тЧП    After inception, this plant is expected to produce 36,000 tons of titanium slag and 20,000 tons of pig iron per year. 
тЧП    The raw material of the plant ilmenite would be procured from Odisha Sands Complex (OSCOM), a unit of Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) in Ganjam district of Odisha as well as a private company which has its unit in Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh. 
тЧП    Earlier in August 2015, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had fully commissioned and started commercial production at the first indigenous Titanium Sponge Plant at Chavara in Kerala.  

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MNRE issue bidding guidelines for setting up 1000 MW Wind Power Projects┬а

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) issued Guidelines for transparent bidding process for implementation of Scheme for setting up of 1000 MW Wind Power Project connected to inter-state transmission system (ISTS).
тЧП    As per Guidelines the Wind Power Projects will be selected through open and transparent competitive bidding followed by e-reverse auction and the capacity may go higher than 1000 MW, if there is demand from Buying Entities. The implementing agency SECI has already floated RfS document for selection of bidders under the Scheme.
тЧП    Discoms of non-windy State and UTs and also the bulk consumers of any State/UTs who intend to buy 10 MW or more can buy wind power under the Scheme.
тЧП    PTC India Ltd, trading company selected by SECI under the scheme, will sign Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with wind projects at bidded tariff and back-to-back Power Sale Agreement (PSA) with Buying Entities at a pooled price of the total bids selected. The term of PPA and PSA will be 25 years.
тЧП    Bidder can bid for a minimum capacity of 50 MW and maximum up to 250 MW. The selected bidder is required to injected wind power at ISTS interconnection point. Bidder is allowed to install 5% of additional rated capacity that will compensate auxiliary consumption and system losses up to interconnection point.
тЧП    Provision relating to pass through of GST impact, part commissioning, efficiency in generation, performance monitoring have also been stipulated in the guidelines.

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Google-ASI Deal for Virtual Tour of 280 Monuments

Google has tied up with Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for 360 degree virtual tour of 280-odd monuments across the country, an official of the tech giant said.
тЧП    ASI had given the permission to Google for creating the virtual tour, which would be available in the maps.
тЧП    Some of the major monuments are Taj Mahal, Victoria Memorial and the ruins of Hampi, he said, adding eight were from Kolkata.
тЧП    Google has launched an array of products in India like offline view of maps, live traffic alerts and inclusion of unknown places on the maps by local guides.
тЧП    Mr Gupta said one billion people across the globe were using Google maps and India was among the top five. 


 

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Entire Country gets National Food Security Act coverage┬а

Kerala and Tamil Nadu have also rolled out the National Food Security Act (NFSA). With this, now the Act has been implemented in all the States and Union Territories. As a result, now 81.34 crore persons will get wheat at Rs. 2/ kg and rice at Rs. 3/ kg. This was announced by Union Minister of Consumer Affair, Food & Public Distribution, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan while interacting with the media here today. Being an important initiative for ensuring food security of the people, the Government of India actively pursued with all the States/UTs for its early implementation.
тЧП    In another significant step towards better targeting and leakage-free distribution of foodgrains, direct benefit transfer is being carried out in two different modes. In the first mode, food subsidy is being transferred in cash into the bank account of beneficiaries, who then have the choice to buy foodgrains from the open market. This has been started in UTs of Chandigarh, Puducherry and urban areas of Dadra & Nagar Haveli. The second mode involves automation of fair price shops, for distribution of foodgrains through an electronic point of sale (e-PoS) device which authenticates beneficiaries at the time of distribution and also electronically captures the quantum of foodgrains distributed to the family. As of 31.10.2016, e-PoS devices are operational in 1,61,854 fair price shops.
тЧП    For smooth functioning of PDS, State Governments are also being provided Central assistance for meeting expenditure of intra-State transportation & handling of foodgrains and fair price shop dealer’s margin. The assistance for fair price shops dealers margin also contains a component of assistance for installation and operation of Pos devices at fair price shops. So far, Rs. 1874 crore has been released to State Governments by the Government of India in 2016-17.
тЧП    At this current coverage, monthly allocation of foodgrains to States/UTs under the Act is about 45.5 lakh tons, with subsidy implication of about Rs. 11,726 core per month or about Rs. 1,40, 700 crore per year.
тЧП    Regarding Sugarcane arrears, Shri Paswan said 2014-15 arrears which were Rs.21,000 at the peak have now come down Rs 205 crore. Prices of pulses except Chana have come down. Regarding wheat prices he said that Government has decided to release additional 10 lakh ton wheat for sale in domestic Market under FCI OMS scheme.

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India's air quality among World's Worst in Deewali Weekend

On October 30 and 31, 2016, from 9PM to the next morning, North India–especially parts of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar–recorded PM 2.5 levels.
тЧП    PM 2.5 is fine particulate matter about 30 times finer than a human hair. 
тЧП    These particles can be inhaled deep into the lungs, causing heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer and respiratory diseases, and are known to pose the greatest risk to human health. 
тЧП    Their measurement is considered to be the best indicator of the level of health risks from air pollution, according to the World Health Organization.
тЧП    South Delhi’s 24-hour average PM 2.5 levels in 2016 were 38% higher than on Diwali night 2015.
тЧП    The next day, these levels were twice as high as the day after Diwali in 2015, crossing 26 times levels considered safe. 
тЧП    On the morning of November 1, 2016, citizens in Delhi woke up to an average PM 2.5 level of over 700 µg/m³–some of the highest levels recorded the world over.
тЧП    It’s 29 times above WHO standards.

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Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction begins with 61 nations

The Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) 2016 began here today. Inaugurated by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, the Conference will set the road towards resilience by setting the direction for the implementation of the Sendai Framework in the Asian region.
тЧП    The Sendai Framework (2015-2030) was adopted by at the Third World Conference on DRR in Sendai, Japan in March, 2015. The SFDRR identifies targets and priority action areas towards reducing disaster risk – ‘reducing the damage caused by natural hazards like earthquakes, floods, droughts and cyclones, through an ethic of prevention’.
тЧП    Over the next three days, ministers, heads of delegations, disaster management experts and other stakeholders will deliberate upon specific issues related to DRR.
тЧП    Dr. P.K. Mishra, Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister, chaired the featured event ‘Disaster Risk Resilient Infrastructure for Sustainable Development’. It was aimed at minimising creation of future risks and achieving sustainable development in the Asian region.
тЧП    Four technical sessions based on the four priorities of the Sendai Framework -Understanding Disaster Risk, Disaster Risk Governance, Investing in Disaster Risk Reduction for resilience and Disaster Preparedness for effective response and ‘to build back better’ – were held today.


 

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