1. PM inaugurates 11 new medical colleges and a new campus of CICT in Tamil Nadu
Tags: National News
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated 11 new medical colleges and a new campus of Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT) in Tamil Nadu on 12 January 2022 through video conference. Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M.K.Stalin were present on the occasion.
- The new medical colleges are being established at an estimated cost of about Rs 4000 crore, out of which around Rs 2145 crore has been provided by the Union government and rest by the Tamil Nadu government.
- The districts in which the new Medical Colleges are being established are Virudhunagar, Namakkal, The Nilgiris, Tiruppur, Thiruvallur, Nagapattinam, Dindigul, Kallakurichi, Ariyalur, Ramanathapuram and Krishnagiri.
- The new medical colleges, with cumulative capacity of 1450 seats, are being established under the Centrally Sponsored scheme of ’Establishing of New Medical Colleges attached with existing district/referral hospital’. Under the scheme, medical colleges are established in districts, which do not have either a government or private medical college.
- The establishment of a new campus of Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT) in Chennai is in line with the Prime Minister’s vision to protect and preserve Indian heritage and promote classical languages.
- The new campus is fully funded by the Union Government and is built at a cost of Rs 24 Crore.
- An autonomous organization under the Union Ministry of Education, CICT is contributing to the promotion of classical Tamil by doing research activities so as to establish the ancientness and uniqueness of Tamil language. The institute library has a rich collection of over 45,000 ancient Tamil Texts.
Statistics from PM’s Speech-
- In 2014, the country had 387 medical colleges. Whereas in 2021, this number has gone up to 596. This is an increase of 54%.
- In 2014, India had around 82 thousand medical Undergraduate and Postgraduate seats. Whereas in 2021, this number has gone up to around 1 lakh 48 thousand seats. This is an increase of about 80%.
- In 2014, there were only seven AIIMS in the country. Whereas till 2021, the number of AIIMS approved has increased to 22.
2. POWERGRID and Africa50 will jointly pioneer Africa’s first transmission PPP project in Kenya
Tags: International News
Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID) has signed a Joint Development Agreement with Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investment platform to continue to develop the Kenya Transmission Project on a public-private partnership basis.
- The project entails the development, financing, construction, and operation of the 400kV Lessos – Loosuk and 220kV Kisumu – Musaga transmission lines under a public-private partnership (PPP) framework.
- Once completed, the project will be the first Independent Power Transmission (IPT) in Kenya and will set a reference point in Africa as the first financing of transmission lines on a PPP basis.
- In this development partnership, POWERGRID, will provide technical and operational know-how to the project, while Africa50 will bring its project development and finance expertise and will act as a bridge between the Kenyan government and private investors.
About Africa50:
- Africa50 is an infrastructure investment platform that contributes to Africa’s economic growth by developing and investing in bankable infrastructure projects, catalyzing public sector capital, and mobilizing private sector funding, with differentiated financial returns and impact.
- Africa50 currently has 31 shareholders, comprising 28 African countries, the African Development Bank, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), and Bank Al-Maghrib.
3. JNU admission through CUET From 2022-23 Session
Tags: National News
The Academic Council of Jawaharlal Nehru University in its 159th meeting cleared a proposal to conduct the varsity’s entrance exam through the Common Universities Entrance Test(CUET) from the academic session 2022-23.
As per the council, CUET would provide a level playing field to numerous eligible students from across the country reducing the burden of taking several entrance examinations.
Criticisms against the move-
- As per, JNU Students’ Union, JNU offers programmes and courses that are unique to the university, and a ‘one size fits all’ approach of CUET will be detrimental in this regard.
- CUET will lead to JNU losing autonomy over the setting of question papers and declaration of results.
- CUET lacks transparency as it indicates pass/fail instead of displaying the student’s grade.
- CUET with a centralized institutional set up, makes (any) redressal an elaborate procedure, further pushing aspirants belonging to the marginalized communities to deeper margins
CUET
The Common Universities Entrance Test (CUET) is an all-India test, organized for admission to various Integrated/Under-Graduate, Post Graduate, and Research Programmes in several Central Universities and State Universities of India. From its inception in 2010 till 2020, the CUCET was conducted/coordinated by the Central University of Rajasthan. The National Testing Agency took over the conduct of these exams in 2021. All Question papers are in MCQ Format.
4. NATO- Russia talk fails
Tags: International News
The talks between the 30 member western military alliance North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and Russia held at Brussels, Belgium on 12 January 2022 ended in a deadlock.
- The talks were held under the NATO-Russia Council Platform .The Secretary General of NATO, General Jens Stoltenberg said that it was impossible to meet the Russian demands regarding expansion of NATO and threat to Ukraine.
- The Russian delegation was led by deputy foreign minister, Aleksandr V. Grushko.
Russia had earlier submitted a list of demands to the United States which leads the NATO military alliance before the NATO -Russia Council platform meeting
The Russian demands were:
- A formal halt to NATO’s eastern enlargement. It means that NATO shall not make Ukraine, Georgia and Finland its members.
- A permanent freeze on further expansion of the alliance’s military infrastructure (such as bases and weapons systems) in the former Soviet allies which are now a part of NATO(these countries are Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Montenegro)
- End to Western military assistance to Ukraine and a ban on intermediate-range missiles deployment in Europe.
Gen. Stoltenberg said it would be impossible for the 30 NATO members to agree to Moscow’s core demands for a new security order in Europe, and in particular added that Russia would have no veto on Ukraine’s right to eventually join the alliance.
Russia has already deployed around 100,000 troops at the Ukraine border and Western intelligence agency has warned that Russia plans to invade Ukraine. Russia denies that it has such a plan.
Kindly also see 3 December 2021 post
5. India agrees to allow import of U.S. pork products
Tags: International News
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced on 11 January 2022, that the Government of India has agreed to allow imports of U.S. pork and pork products into India.
- This is a part of a deal with the Government of India where India will import Pork and pork products, Alfalfa hay and cherries from the US and will export mangoes and pomegranate to the US.
- This news follows the successful revitalization of the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum held in New Delhi in November 2021 during the visit of Katherine Tai to India.
- The export of Indian mangoes has been restricted by the USA since 2020 as USDA (US Department of Agriculture) inspectors were unable to visit India for inspection of irradiation facilities due restrictions imposed on international travel because of Covid-19 pandemic,”
- In 2019-20, India exported 1,095 MillionTonnes of mangoes worth $4.35 million to the United States.
6. U.S. announces $308 mn in aid for Afghanistan as crisis grows
Tags: International News
The United States has announced $308 million in additional humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan as it edges towards a humanitarian crisis since the Taliban takeover in 2021.
- The United States will donate an extra $308m in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, the White House has announced, bringing the total of US aid for Afghanistan and Afghan refugees in the region to nearly $782m since October.
- The aid will be channelled through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to humanitarian organisations providing shelter, healthcare, and emergency food aid, among other services.
- In August 2021 the US government froze nearly $9.5 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank and stopped shipments of cash to the nation after Taliban took over the country. The US has designated the Taliban in its sanction list and no funds can be provided to the Taliban government by the US government or by its banks.
- No country in the world recognises Taliban government in Kabul.
United Nation’s biggest appeal:
- Meanwhile, the United Nations said that it needed $5 billion in aid for Afghanistan in 2022 to avert a humanitarian catastrophe and offer the ravaged country a future after 40 years of suffering.
7. South Korean trade minister’s visit to India
Tags: National News
South Korean trade minister Yeo Han-Koo visited India on 11th January and agreed to expand trade by upgrading the existing bilateral agreement and resolving industry specific issues to achieve $50 billion bilateral trade by 2030.
Highlight of the visit:
- Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and his counterpart agreed to impart fresh momentum to the discussions on CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) up-gradation negotiations.
- They also agreed to promote extensive B2B (business-to-business) interactions on trade and investment between the industry leaders of the two countries.
- The two ministers agreed with “the spirit of openness” to address difficulties expressed by industry from both sides and instructed their respective negotiating teams to meet on a regular basis in order to conclude the CEPA up-gradation negotiations as soon as possible to achieve the target of $50 billion before 2030, which was agreed at the summit meeting in 2018.
- South Korea is one of the key investors in India, it’s total foreign direct investment to India up to September 2020 was about $6.94 billion.
8. PM inaugurates 25th National Youth Festival in Puducherry
Tags: National News
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the 25th National Youth Festival in Puducherry, via video conferencing today. Today, being the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda is observed as National Youth Day.
- During the event, the Prime Minister unveiled selected essays on “Mere Sapno ka Bharat” and “Unsung Heroes of Indian Freedom Movement”.
- These essays have been selected from submissions by over 1 lakh youth on the two themes.
- The Prime Minister also inaugurated a Technology Centre of the MSME Ministry, established at Puducherry with an investment of about Rs. 122 crore.
- The Prime Minister also inaugurated the Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Manimandapam - an auditorium with an open-air theatre, constructed by the Government of Puducherry at a cost of about Rs 23 crores.
For more details about National Youth Festival kindly see January 6, 2022 post.
9. Suspension of MLA is worse than expulsion - Supreme Court of India
Tags: National News
The Supreme Court of India observed that suspension from the Legislative Assembly for a year is “worse” than expulsion, as it affects the right of a constituency to remain represented in the House, otherwise it will create a constitutional void.
- The observation came, while a bench led by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, which was hearing the pleas filed by 12 BJP MLAs who have challenged their one year suspension from the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for allegedly misbehaving with the presiding officer.
- The Supreme Court said the House cannot suspend a member beyond 59 days based on the statutory obligation under Article 190(4).
- Article 190 (4) of the Constitution says that if for a period of 60 days, a member of a House, without its permission, is absent, the House may declare his or her seat vacant.
10. India’s passport rank improves to 83 from 90 on Henley Passport Index 2022
Tags: National News
India has improved its passport power for the year 2022, climbing seven places to rank 83rd compared to last year's 90th position as it now has access to 60 countries that don't require a prior visa.
- Henley passport Index ranks a country's passport according to the number of destinations the holder of the passport can visit without a visa.
- A visa is an official document which is issued by a country to a foreigner allowing it to legally visit the country. Passport is a proof of citizenship which is issued by a country to its citizen.
Henley Passport Index 2022 Highlights:
- The Henley Passport Index compares the visa-free access of 199 different passports to 227 travel destinations. If no visa is required, then a score of 1 is created for that passport. Where a visa is required a score of 0 is given.
- The country which has the maximum point is ranked at the top and the country which has the least point is ranked last.
- The country which ranked at the top is Japan and Singapore with a value of 192 points. The Japanese and Singapore passports are considered to be the most powerful passports in the world.
- At the second rank was Germany and South Korea with a value of 190.
- India was ranked 83 with a value score of 60.
- Afghanistan was ranked last at 111th position with a value score of 26.
