1. Vidisha becomes first Indian district to implement state-of-the-art 5G use cases proposed by startups
Tags: National National News
Vidisha, an aspirational district of Madhya Pradesh became the first ever district in India for on ground deployment of innovative 5G use cases offered by startups.
An overview of the news
This feat has been achieved through a joint initiative of Vidisha district administration and Center for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), Department of Telecom (DoT) under the guidance of Additional Secretary (Telecom) and Administrator USOF.
Department of Telecom (DoT) is promoting digital communication technology - partnership of startups and SMEs for potential user communities.
This partnership is being done through Telecom Startups and MSME Mission (TSuM) and 5G Vertical Engagement Partnership Program (VEPP).
This has been accomplished to accelerate digital transformation across socio-economic verticals.
What is 5G technology?
The fifth generation mobile network is called 5G.
The 5G network will operate in the millimeter-wave spectrum (30-300 GHz) which can send huge amounts of data at very high speeds.
It is the newest upgrade in Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile broadband networks.
Internet speeds in the high-band spectrum of 5G have been tested to exceed 20 Gbps (gigabit per second).
2. ADB to provide $1.2 billion loan for infrastructure projects
Tags: Economy/Finance
The Manila based Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to provide a $1.22 billion loan to the government of India for Infrastructure development in various states.
An agreement to this effect was signed between the Indian Government and ADB in New Delhi on 3 January 2023.India is the largest borrower of ADB.
The agreements would cover projects for improving the power sector and highways in the Northeastern states of Tripura and Assam, metro rail connectivity in the southern city of Chennai, and improvement of key economic areas in the western state of Maharashtra.
The Asian Development Bank was established in 1966. Its Headquarter is at Mandaluyong City, Manila, Philippines.
President of ADB: Masatsugu Asakawa
3. Asian Development Bank provides $100 million loans to Shriram Finance limited
Tags: Economy/Finance
India’s largest Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) Shriram Finance Ltd has secured a $100 million loan from the Manila based Asian Development Bank on 30 December 2022. The loan amount will be used by the Shriram Finance to provide loans to customers to buy new or used BS VI compliant vehicles and electric vehicles", besides providing financial support to women entrepreneurs and under-developed states.
Shriram Finance Limited is the largest retail NBFC in India. It was formed after the merger of mainly Shriram City Union Finance and Shriram Transport Finance.
The headquarters of the company is in Chennai.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer: Y S Chakravarti
Asian Development Bank was set up in 1966 as a regional development bank for Asia and Asia-Pacific region. The total number of member countries of ADB is 68.
Its headquarters is at Mandaluyong City, Manila, Philippines
President of ADB: Masatsugu Asakawa
4. US Vice-President Kamala Harris names Indian-American Rajeev Badyal to the National Space Council Advisory Group
Tags: Person in news International News
The American Vice President Kamala Harris has named Indian American Rajeev Badyal to the National Space Council's Users Advisory Group (UAG). The UAG is tasked to maintain a robust and responsible US space enterprise and preserve space for current and future generations. The UAG is headed by US Air Force Rtd General Lester Lyles.
Rajeev Badyal is currently the vice-president of Project Kuiper of Amazon. Under Project Kuiper a number of Low Earth Orbit satellites will be launched by Amazon that will provide low-latency, high-speed broadband connectivity to unserved and underserved communities around the world.
The UAG will provide the National Space Council advice and recommendations on matters related to space policy and strategy, government policies, laws, regulations, treaties, international instruments, programmes, and practices across the civil, commercial, international, and national security space sectors.
Kamala Harris
She is the first woman to be elected as the Vice-President of the United States.
She was elected as the Vice President in 2020 and Joe Biden was elected as the President of the United States of America.
Her mother Shyamala Gopalan was a Tamilian who immigrated to the United States and married a Jamaican Donald Harris.
5. Government owned WAPCOS ranked as top consulting firm by the Asian Development Bank
Tags: Reports National Economy/Finance
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The Asian Development Bank(ADB) in its annual Procurement report 2022 has ranked the Government of India owned Water and Power Consultancy Services India Limited (WAPCOS) Company as the top Consulting Services Firm in Water and other Infrastructure Sectors.
In another report on its Members’ Fact Sheet - 2022 released by the ADB, WAPCOS figured amongst the top 3 Consultants from India involved in Consulting Services Contracts under ADB Loan, Grant and Technical Assistance Projects in Energy, Transport and Water & other Urban Infrastructure Sectors. WAPCOS is the only Indian Public Sector to feature in the above categories.
The Manila, Philippines based Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank for Asia and Asia-Pacific region. It has 68 member countries and it is headed by Masatsugu Asakawa. It also releases the Asian development Outlook report.
WAPCOS
It was established by the government of India in 1969 under the aegis of the Ministry of Water Resources to utilize India’s knowledge and expertise in the field of water resources by sharing and exporting technology to friendly developing nations.
In 1979 the name of the Company was changed from “Water and Power Development Consultancy Services (India) Limited” to “Water and Power Consultancy Services (India) Limited.”
Apart from India, the Company has successfully completed/on-going consultancy assignments in more than 51 Countries covering Asia, Africa, CIS, Pacific Islands and South America.
Chairman cum Managing Director: Rajni Kant Aggrawal
Headquarters: New Delhi
6. ADB to provide $125 million loan to improve Urban Services in Tamil Nadu
Tags: Economy/Finance State News
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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide USD 125 million loan to India to develop climate-resilient sewage collection and treatment, and drainage and water supply systems in three cities in the state of Tamil Nadu.
In 2018 ADB agreed to provide USD 500 million loan to build priority water supply, sewerage, and drainage infrastructure in strategic industrial corridors across 10 cities in Tamilnadu. The loan amount was to be provided in three tranches. Under the third tranche $125 million will be provided and the amount will be used to build priority water supply, sewerage, and drainage infrastructure in Coimbatore, Madurai and Thoothukudi.
Asian Development Bank (ADB)
It is a regional multilateral financial institution which focuses on the countries of Asia and Pacific region.
At present it has 68 members—of which 49 members are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside.
President of ADB: Masatsugu Asakawa
Headquarters: Mandaluyong City, Manila, Philippines
7. Jio launches 5G services in Andhra Pradesh with an investment of Rs 6,500 crore
Tags: State News
Reliance Jio has launched its 5G services in Andhra Pradesh with an investment of Rs 6,500 crore, starting with the cities of Tirumala, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Guntur.
Important facts
Andhra Pradesh Information and Technology Minister Gudivada Amarnath and Chief Secretary KS Jawahar Reddy launched the Jio True 5G and Jio True 5G Powered wi-fi services on 26th December.
Jio 5G services will be available throughout the state by the end of next year.
On December 26, Jio users in these cities were invited for the Jio Welcome Offer.
In addition to its existing investment of Rs 26,000 crore, Jio has invested over Rs 6,500 crore for the deployment of 5G network in Andhra Pradesh, showing its commitment towards the development of the state.
5G services in other states
Since the launch of 5G services on October 1, the telecom operators have expanded their 5G coverage in 50 Indian cities (till December 7).
Names of cities with Airtel 5G - Delhi, Siliguri, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Varanasi, Mumbai, Nagpur, Chennai, Gurugram, Panipat, Guwahati and Patna.
Name of cities with Jio 5G - Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Varanasi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Nathdwara, Pune, Gurugram, Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and in all 33-district headquarters of Gujarat.
What is 5G technology?
The fifth generation mobile network is called 5G.
The 5G network will operate in the millimeter-wave spectrum (30-300 GHz) which can send huge amounts of data at very high speeds.
It is the newest upgrade in Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile broadband networks.
Internet speeds in the high-band spectrum of 5G have been tested to exceed 20 Gbps (gigabit per second).
8. Rajasthan Government to provide LPG cylinder at Rs 500 per cylinder; Ashok Gehlot
Tags: Person in news State News
The Rajasthan Government will provide 12 LPG cylinders per year to the poor families at Rs 500 per cylinder from 1 April 2023. This was announced by the Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot at the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Alwar on 19 December 2022.
He said the decision was taken to provide relief to the people suffering from unprecedented inflation and unemployment.
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)
‘Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana’ (PMUY) was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1 May 2016 in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh.
Under the scheme a poor household headed by a woman is provided with a free LPG gas stove and free first LPG Cylinder.
However under the scheme the beneficiaries have to buy the subsidized LPG cylinder.
The target of the PMUY was to release 8 crore LPG connections by March 2020 which was achieved on 7 September 2019.
PMUY 2.0
It was launched virtually by PM Modi on 10 August 2021 at Mahoba, Madhya Pradesh.
It aims to provide additional 1.6 crore LPG connections with special focus on migrant households.
Connection is provided to an adult woman belonging to a poor household.
The beneficiaries should belong to any of the following categories:
- Eligible as per Socio Economic Caste Census 2011 list,
- Belongs to SC/ST households, be a beneficiary of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), Forest dwellers, Most Backward Classes (MBC), Tea and Ex-Tea Garden Tribes, People residing in river Islands.
9. Fifth Scorpene Submarine ‘Vagir’ delivered to Indian Navy
Tags: Defence National News
The fifth submarine of the Project -75, Kalvari Class submarines, Yard 11879 (Vagir) was delivered to the Indian Navy on 20 December.
Important facts
Project -75 includes indigenous construction of six submarines of Scorpene design.
These submarines are being constructed at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) Mumbai, under collaboration with M/s Naval Group, France.
Launched on 12 Nov 20, Vagir commenced sea trials from 1 Feb 2022 and has completed all major trials, including weapon and sensor trials, in less time than earlier submarines.
The construction of these submarines in an Indian yard is another step towards 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' and instills confidence in the region.
What is also a remarkable achievement is that this is the third submarine delivered to the Indian Navy in a span of 24 months.
Project- 75
Project- 75 intends to build six diesel-electric attack submarines of the Kalvari class that are based on the Scorpene-class, which are being built at MDL (Mazagon Dock Limited).
Project 75 (I), approved in 2007, is part of the Indian Navy’s 30 year Plan for indigenous submarine construction.
10. Tamil Nadu government makes Aadhaar mandatory for all its schemes
Tags: State News
The Tamil Nadu government has announced that all those who are eligible for benefits (other than minor children) under various government schemes will have to submit proof of having an Aadhaar number or get an Aadhaar identification.
Important facts
As per the order, Aadhaar is mandatory for government employees, government pensioners and beneficiaries of various schemes implemented by the state government through various departments through their implementing agencies.
Any person who is willing to avail the benefits but does not have an Aadhaar number or has not yet enrolled for Aadhaar, will need to apply for Aadhaar enrollment before registering for the schemes.
The Treasury and Accounts Department through its implementing agency will provide Aadhaar enrollment facilities for those beneficiaries who are not yet enrolled.
In case there is no Aadhaar Enrollment Centre, the Department will provide enrollment facilities at convenient locations through its implementing agency in coordination with the existing Registrar of UIDAI or by becoming the Registrar of UIDAI itself.
The government has also announced a remedial mechanism in case Aadhaar authentication fails due to bad biometrics or any other reason.
This will be done through Aadhaar One Time Password (OTP) or time-based OTP with limited time validity.
About Tamilnadu
The state was formed on 26 January 1950 but its boundaries were redrawn on 14 January 1969.
Tamil Nadu is located at the mouth of the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean.
Bharatanatyam is a very popular and famous dance form of Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu is the largest producer of bananas and flowers, the second largest producer of mango, rubber, groundnut, coconut and the third largest producer of coffee.
Governor- Ravindra Narayan Ravi
Chief Minister- M.K.Stalin
Assembly seats 235 seats
Rajya Sabha Seats - 18
Lok Sabha seats- 39
