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Mandi, Sindhudurg emerge cleanest Districts in India: Gramin Swachh Survekshan

The results of the 2016 ‘Swachh Survekshan’ (Cleanliness Index) for rural India was released on 8 September 2016. 
•    Mandi (Himachal Pradesh) and Sindhudurg (Maharashtra) were declared as the cleanest districts in India.
•    The results were declared by the Minister, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.
•    A total of 22 hill districts and 53 plain areas were assessed under the Gramin Swachh Survekshan launched in May 2016.
•    Households having access to safe toilets and using them (toilet usage, water accessibility, safe disposal of waste) (40%)
•    Households having no litter around (30%)
•    Public places with no litter in the surrounding (10%)
•    Households having no stagnant wastewater around (20%)
•    The assessors appointed by QCI individually visited all districts covered under the Survekshan to make a comprehensive analysis of the on-ground situation & progress.

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Haryana wins Best Horticulture State award

Haryana has bagged ‘Best Horticulture State’ award for the concerted efforts made by the state government to increase the income of the farmers in horticulture.
•    The award was received by Haryana Agriculture Minister OP Dhankar on 9 September 2016 at two-day 9th Agricultural Leadership Summit 2016. 
•    The summit was organized by Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) in New Delhi. 
•    At present, about 2.5 lakh hectares of land of the state is under horticulture and a target has been set to increase it up to nine lakh hectares. 
•    For this purpose, the state has decided to set a Horticulture University in the state.
•    It also decided to set up centers of excellence in horticulture in every district of the state and create 340 horticulture villages in the state.
•    In addition, it would also set biggest Horticulture Mandi of the country at Ganaur on the pattern of Rungis Mandi of France and Shenzhen Mandi of China.
•    Besides, the 2016 best agriculture state award went to Odisha. 
•    It was awarded with the award in recognition of the efforts towards development of agriculture and bringing rural prosperity.

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India plans to outreach 68 countries

Taking the Modi government’s commitment to reach out to all countries worldwide, the Ministry of External Affairs has issued letters to various Ministers “assigning” them dozens of specific countries to engage with, The Hindu has learnt.
•    In a letter, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said, “By 2016-end, we will not leave any country where Indian Ministers have not gone.”
•    Ministry had identified 68 countries which had not witnessed Ministerial-level visits from India.
•    Among the first that will see visits by Ministers will be East European countries.
•    Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will be visiting Estonia and Latvia, while Home Minister Rajnath Singh will be going to Hungary and Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu to Bosnia. 
•    In case a Minister has some “personal work” or is interested in visiting certain places in those countries, the same will be included in their schedule.
 

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SC agrees to lay down law on LG’s power to run Delhi

Describing the prolonged Centre-Arvind Kejriwal turf war over who controls Delhi as an “extraordinary matter”, the Supreme Court agreed to lay down the law on whether the Lieutenant Governor (LG) can unilaterally administer the National Capital without being bound by the “aid and advice” of the elected government.
•    Bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and N.V. Ramana issued notice to the Union on a batch of seven petitions filed by the Delhi government challenging the Delhi High Court’s August 4 judgment.
•    The HC had upheld the LG’s power not only over the police, land and public order but also in “services”. 
•    The judgment had effectively shrunk the Kejriwal Cabinet’s girth.
•    Mr. Venugopal requested the Bench to refer the appeals to a Constitution Bench. Justice Sikri acknowledged that the point would be decided after a detailed preliminary hearing fixed for November 15.
•    The petitions, if referred to a Constitution Bench, would have to be heard by an 11-judge Bench of the Supreme Court.
•    This is because a nine-judge Bench of the apex court had in 1996 in the NDMC versus State of Punjab case, recognised Delhi as a Union Territory for taxation purposes.
 

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Good turnout at Braille Bookstall


A separate stall for Braille books, set up for the first time at Madurai Book Fair by Indian Association for the Blind (IAB), has been witnessing considerable footfall.
•    S. Manjula, a joint secretary at the IAB and the person in-charge of the Braille press run by the association, said many visitors were surprised to see a stall exclusively for Braille books.
•    “Years ago, Braille reading was not very popular among visually challenged children. 
•    Now, there is a considerable demand for Braille-printed books. But many don’t know where to buy them. That is where these stalls help,” she said.
•    Many schools that were visiting the fair had taken down their details for ordering books for their libraries or the visually challenged children.
•    Ms. Manjula said the demand was high for school textbooks. 
•    “Though books are printed and distributed free of cost by the National Institute for the Visually Handicapped (NIVH), they are not easily available. 
•    Apart from textbooks, Braille versions of novels by popular authors such as Jayakanthan, Sujatha, Imaiyam and Azha. 
•    Valliyappa were also on sale.

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Bengaluru hosts first edition of IoT India Congress

The first edition of IoT India Congress 2016 kick started on 7 September 2016 in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
•    The IoT India Congress 2016 is one of the largest events of its kind in India.
•    It will bring together stakeholders from various facets of the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem.
•    It aims to bring together key stakeholders across the value chain and verticals to collaborate, ideate and share a common roadmap for IoT implementation.
•    The event will also host the IoT Thought Leadership Awards 2016 and the IoT Start-Up Awards 2016.
•    In 2013, the Global Standards Initiative on Internet of Things defined the IoT as the infrastructure of the information society.
•    The IoT allows objects to be sensed and/or controlled remotely across existing network infrastructure.
•    British entrepreneur Kevin Ashton coined the term in 1999 while working at Auto-ID Labs.
 

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Integration of Digi Locker with Driving Licenses & Vehicle Registration Certificates launched

Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways and Shipping, and Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Electronics and Information Technology and Law and Justice, on 7 September 2016 jointly launched Integration of DigiLocker with Driving Licenses (DL) & Vehicle Registration Certificates (RC) in New Delhi.
•    The new service will end the need of people carrying around physical copies of their RCs and DLs. 
•    They can instead access digital copies of the same on their mobile phones via the DigiLocker mobile app.
•    Driving Licenses and Vehicle Registration documents can now be issued directly to the DigiLockers of individuals in digital formats.
•    These digital copies can be shared with other departments as identity and address proof.
•    DigiLocker was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July 2015.
•    It aims at transforming India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.
•    It is a platform for issuance and verification of documents and certificates digitally.
•    DigiLocker currently has 2126332 registered users with 2411702 uploaded documents and has issued over 42673232 documents as on 1 September 2016.
 

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Premium Railway Fares hiked upto 50 % in New Dynamic Pricing Model


Passengers travelling by Rajdhani, Shatadbi and Duronto trains will have to shell out between 10 and 50 per cent more under a dynamic surge pricing system to be introduced from September 9, aimed at raking in Rs 500 crore more during the current financial year.
•    The base fare for the three premium trains will be on flexi fare system, Railway Board Member.
•    There are total 42 Rajdhani trains, 46 Shatabdi and 54 Duronto trains and railways expect to garner about Rs 500 crore from the new fare structure in these trains.
•    The passenger revenue target for the current fiscal is Rs 51,000 crore as against Rs 45,000 crore in the last fiscal, an increase of Rs 6000 Cr for 2016-17.
•    For II AC and Chair Car, the maximum hike will be 50 percent while for III AC, it will be 40 percent.

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WHO certifies India Yaws, Maternal & Neonatal Tetanus free

India on 6 September 2016 received certificates from World Health Organization (WHO) recognizing the elimination of Yaws and Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus (MNT) from the country.
•    Yaws is a tropical infection of the skin, bones and joints caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum pertenue.
•    It is spread by direct contact with the fluid from a lesion of an infected person.
•    The disease is most common among children, who spread it by playing together.
•    The disease infects only humans.
•    Neonatal tetanus is a form of generalized tetanus that occurs in newborns.
•    Infants who have not acquired passive immunity from the mother having been immunized are at risk.
•    It usually occurs through infection of the unhealed umbilical stump, particularly when the stump is cut with a non-sterile instrument.
•    The disease mostly occurs in developing countries, particularly those with the least developed health infrastructure. It is rare in developed countries.

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Union Government Launches #Gas4India Campaign to Promote Use Natural Gas in the Country

The Union Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan today launched #Gas4India  campaign, aimed at promoting the use of gas in the country. 
•    Public and private sector companies working in the sector have joined hands to promote the natural gas sector.
•    #Gas4India  is a unified cross-country, multimedia, multi-event campaign to communicate the national, social, economic and ecological benefits of using natural gas as the fuel of choice to every citizen who uses, or will use in the near future, gas in any way- cook, travel, light their homes, and power their business.
•    The campaign includes social engagement via Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn, and its official blogsite, as well as hyper local, offline events to directly connect with consumers through discussions, workshops and cultural events. 
•    Shri Pradhan launched the website, Twitter handle, facebook page and Theme song of the campaign.

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