1. IndianOil’s CSR initiative to help eliminate TB in Punjab & UP
Tags: State News
Indian Oil has committed to support the National TB elimination Program (NTEP) in India. The program’s key objective will be to screen and test the entire population of UP & Punjab every year for the next three years.
- It will work with City Coordination Committees, District Health Societies, Technical support groups, etc., in each of the 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh and 23 districts in Punjab.
- Once patients are notified, their treatment will continue as per the protocol of the National TB Elimination Program.
- In 2018, Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India had given a call to End TB in India by 2025, five years ahead of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of 2030.
- To fulfill that vision, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, under the aegis of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, in collaboration with Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, is joining the “Jan Andolan” of “TB Mukt Bharat”.
- TB continues to be one of India’s severest health challenges. India has a large number of ‘missing’ cases every year that are not detected or reported.
In 2020, Uttar Pradesh, with a population of over 23.4 crores, had the highest share of tuberculosis notifications in India (over 20%). At the same time, it contributes to almost one-fourth of estimated missing cases in the country
2. First Mobile Honey Processing Van launched in India
Tags: State News
Khadi and Village Industries Commission(KVIC )Chairman , Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena launched the country’s first Mobile Honey Processing Van at Village Sirora in Ghaziabad, UP on 7 January 2022.
- KVIC has designed the innovative Mobile Honey Processing Van that will process beekeepers’ honey at their doorsteps and thus save them the hassle and the cost of taking the honey to processing plants.
- The van is also equipped with a testing laboratory that would instantly examine the quality of honey.
3. English is the Court Language : Gujarat High Court
Tags: State News
A Division Bench of the Gujarat High Court has asked a journalist facing contempt of court proceedings to speak only in English as that was the language in the higher judiciary.
- The Bench comprising Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and A.J. Shastri made the directive to local journalist Vishal Vyas, who runs Samna Bhrashtachar Ka, against which contempt of court proceedings was initiated in 2014.
- Vishal Vyas insisted on speaking in Gujarati.
- In the High Court, there is a rule that even if any party who does not hire a lawyer appears in person, he has to speak and argue in English only.
Language to be used in Courts
- The Bench also underlined that the Article 348 of the Constitution mandates that the language of the High Court would be English.
- However under clause 2 of the article provides that the governor can authorise the use of Hindi or any other language with the consent of the President for the proceedings of the High Court.
- In the Supreme Court it is English only.
4. Tamil Nadu to oppose the construction of Mekedatu dam
Tags: State News
Tamilnadu government has again reiterated its stand that it is opposed to the construction of Mekedatu dam by Karnataka.
- In 2019 Karnataka Government submitted a proposal to the Central government for construction of a reservoir at Mekedatu in Ramanagara district, 90 km from Bengaluru and 4 km from the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border.
- The project is proposed at the confluence of Cauvery with its tributary Arkavathi.
- The project aims to ensure adequate drinking water supply to Bengaluru and produce 400 MW of hydro electricity .
Tamilnadu is opposed to this project as it will reduce the flow of water to Tamilnadu. It has approached the Supreme Court on this issue.
5. 27th Edition of Kolkata film festival temporarily postponed due to surge in covid cases
Tags: State News
27th Kolkata International Film Festival which was scheduled from January 7-14, 2022 got temporarily postponed amid Surge in Covid-19 Cases
The inaugural film will be Satyajit Ray’s 1970 classic Aranyer Din Ratri.
The festival will offer a centenary tribute to filmmaker Satyajit Ray, film critic Chidananda Dasgupta and Hungarian filmmaker Miklós Jancsó.
Finland is the theme country for the 27th edition of the festival.
The Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) is an annual film festival held in Kolkata, India. Founded in 1995, it is the third-oldest international film festival in India. The festival is organized by the West Bengal Film Centre under the West Bengal Government.
Award - Golden / Silver Royal Bengal Tiger
6. Increase in installed capacity of Harduaganj Thermal Power Station
Tags: State News
- Uttar Pradesh government is increasing the Installed capacity of the Harduaganj Thermal Power Station by 660 MW taking the total installed capacity to 1270 MW
- Harduaganj Thermal Power Station is located in the Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh.
- The coal for this power plant is sourced from coal mines owned by Bharat Coking Coal Limited(BCCL) and Eastern Coalfields Limited(ECL).
- The power plant is owned and operated by Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam.
7. Odisha radio-tags rescued Indian pangolin
Tags: State News
- The Odisha Forest and Environment Department has completed its first ever radiotagging of the Indian pangolin using a VHF [very high frequency] radio transmitter.
- It is the State’s first attempt to standardize rehabilitation protocol for the animal
- It was rescued by the Paralakhemundi Forest Division last month, and was radiotagged and released in the Nandankanan Wildlife Sanctuary, in Bhubaneshwar Odisha.
- Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP), is the only conservation breeding center for Indian pangolins in the world.
- The center was established in 2009 to standardize the protocol for housing and husbandry of endangered species.
- After Madhya Pradesh, Odisha is the second State in the country to release a radiotagged Indian pangolin into the wild
- The exercise is expected to reveal valuable information on the ecology, dispersal pattern, home range, and survival of the reclusive animal.
- Pangolin is a nocturnal (awake and active at night and asleep during the day) animal that lives in burrows and feeds on ants and termites.
- Indian pangolin is the largest among eight pangolin species.
- Pangolins are the most illegally traded mammals in the world.
8. AFSPA extended by six months in Nagaland
Tags: State News
- The Union Home Ministry extended the AFSPA Act in Nagaland for a period of six months with effect from 30th December 2021.
- It is done in the exercise of the powers conferred under Section 3 of the AFSPA Act. Both the Central and State governments have concurrent powers in this regard.
- As per notification “the Central government is of the opinion that the area comprising the whole of the State of Nagaland is in such a disturbed and dangerous condition that the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary”
- The last extension was made on June 30
- Union Home Ministry has set up a panel to decide on withdrawing the Act in the State.
For more details on AFSPA kindly refer to the 06th December 2021 post.
9. Construction of Pandu Ship Repair Facility to start from May 2022
Tags: State News
- The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and AYUSH,shri Sarbananda Sonowal has announced that the construction of the Pandu ship repair facility at Guwahati will start from May 2022
- It is expected to be completed by 2024.
- The design and implementation of this project is being done jointly by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and Cochin Shipyard Limited. The technical support is being provided by IIT, Madras.
- North East which is one of the least developed areas of India has tremendous potential for development of inland waterways using its river resource .
- The work has already started on the National Waterway 2 - the Brahmaputra - as well as National Waterway 6 - the Barak which will help in facilitating cargo traffic, passenger traffic as well as tourist jetties for the economic growth of the region.
- Pandu Ship repair facility is basically designed to cater to the maintenance and repair needs of the ships which will ply on these waterways.
For detail about Waterways in india click here
10. Apple Puts Foxconn Unit on Probation
Tags: State News
- The Apple company of the United States has placed an Indian Plant of Taiwanese electronic contract manufacturer Foxconn on probation, following concerns over food safety and accommodation at the unit.
- It means that the IPhone maker will not provide new orders to the Foxconn facility in Sriperumbudur, Chennai in Tamilnadu.
- Protests erupted in the unit after cases of food poisoning among 250 women who work and live there were reported and the unit had to be closed temporarily.
- Foxconn Technology group of Taiwan is the world’s largest contract manufacturer in the world.
- Apple is the designer and marketer of the IPhone series of smartphones .It does not manufacture its phone but outsource it from other companies like Foxconn.
