Maharashtra Current Affairs 2020

State-Wise Current Affairs

600-acre Aarey land near national park earmarked as forest in Maharashtra The Maharashtra government has decided to reserve 600-acre Aarey land near the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in suburban Mumbai as a forest and conserve the same. The Aarey Milk Colony, spread over 3,162 acres, was established in 1949 as a centre for processing and marketing milk for Mumbai and adjoining areas.

Over the last 70 years, this sprawling green area has been steadily eaten away at its edges – and 1,282 acres were acquired by the state for projects such as Film City. Once located on the edge of the city, it is now part of the sprawling western suburb known as Goregaon. The land falls under the eco-sensitive zone of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Now the Maharashtra CM announced that he planned to earmark the Aarey forest land as a reserve forest. However, of the 1,800-plus acres of open space available, only 600 acres will be earmarked as forest. Under Section 4 of The Indian Forest Act, 1927, the state government can “constitute any land a reserved forest” by issuing a notification in the Official Gazette.

Under the law, the government must also appoint a Forest Settlement Officer (FSO) “to determine the rights alleged to exist in favour of any person in or over any land comprised within such limits or in or over any forest-produce, and to deal with the same”. Reservation for Marathas in govt jobs & educational institutions in Maharashtra The Supreme Court has stayed reservation for Maratha community in government jobs and educational institutions in Maharashtra. A three-judge bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao referred the case to a larger bench to consider the constitutional validity of 2018 Maharashtra government law providing reservation to Marathas in the State. Maharashtra State Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act originally provided 16 per cent reservation for Maratha community in educational institutions and government jobs. The law was challenged before Bombay High Court which in June 2019 upheld its validity but reduced the quota to 12 per cent in educational institutions and 13 per cent in jobs.

Appeals were filed before Supreme Court stating that the reservation would lead to breach of the 50 per cent cap laid down by the Apex Court in its 1992 judgment of Indra Sawhney versus Union of India. Maharashtra government had on August 26th asked the Court to place the matter before a larger bench considering the fact that it involves determination of substantial legal questions. Scientists detect India’s 1st case of infection of H9N2 virus in Maharashtra Scientists of the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, Maharashtra have detected the 1st case of H9N2 virus ,a rare subtype of influenza virus A, in a 17-month-old boy in Maharashtra.

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The discovery has been published in the December 2019 issue of journal ‘Emerging Infectious Diseases’ of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is a rare variant of the virus, which causes human influenza as well as bird flu. These viruses, found exclusively in wild birds, could potentially play a major role in the worldwide emergence of influenza.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the avian influenza virus is spreading rapidly in poultry firms, exposure to infected poultry or contaminated environments poses a risk to human groups as well. H9N2 virus infections in humans are rare, although cases of the infection do not come to light due to unclear symptoms. In humans, the first case of H9N2 virus infection occurred in Hong Kong in 1998. In India, the virus was spotted during a community-based surveillance study in 93 villages of the Korku tribe of Melghat district in Maharashtra in February 2019.Globally, the 1st case of H9N2 virus infection occurred in humans in Hong Kong in 1998. First-ever Jerusalem-Mumbai Festival to be held in Mumbai The first ever ‘Jerusalem-Mumbai Festival’ will be held in the capital of Maharashtra this week to showcase the special links between the two cities and to promote ties between India and Israel. The two-day festival starting on February 15 will seek to promote artistic cooperation in the diverse fields of culture, such as culinary art, music and dance.

The Festival will showcase the special links between the two cities and demonstrate their unique cultural traditions. It will provide a platform to promote collaborations between Jerusalem and Maharashtra in the cultural domain and inspire artists from Jerusalem and Mumbai to work together. It will deepen the growing partnership between the two countries. The festival will witness two collaborating chefs Ilan Garusi from Jerusalem and Amninder Sandhu from Mumbai. They will demonstrate special fusion meals. Maharashtra govt launched “Cyber Safe Initiative” Maharashtra Government has launched the Cyber Safe Initiative commemorating the birth anniversary of Indian Social Reformer Savitribai Phule, the first female teacher of India.

The aim of the initiative is to spread awareness against atrocities committed against children and women. It will also create awareness about laws on cybercrime. The campaign is to be implemented all over the state by the State Government in collaboration with state police, public relations department and cyber cell. The campaign is to be launched in all districts of Maharashtra creating awareness about laws existing in cybercrimes. It will also create awareness against crimes such as bank frauds, child pornography, photo shuffling, online gaming, cyber defamation information and false information sites.

At central level, the Ministry of Home Affairs runs a twitter handle called “Cyber Dost” that creates pertinent posts on prevention and protection against cybercrimes.

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The Home Affairs Ministry had also launched the Cyber Crime Prevention against women and children Scheme in January 2019. The scheme had a total outlay of Rs 223.198 crores. The main features of the scheme include online cybercrime reporting platform, research and development, cybercrime awareness activities. According to Crime Report-2017, released by NCRB (National Crime Record Bureau) in 2019, the number of cyber crimes in the country have been increasing constantly.

In 2014, the number of cyber crimes were 9,622, in 2015, it increased to 11,592 and in 2016 the number of cybercrimes were 12,317. The legal framework of cyber crimes is provided by the Information Technology Act, 2000. Maharashtra Government orders to destroy “Thai Mangur” fish breeding centres Maharashtra Government ordered to destroy the Thai Mangur fish breeding centres. This is mainly because the fish is cultivated in unhygienic conditions. The fish whose breeding is to be stopped in Maharashtra is commonly called Thai Mangur or foreign Mangur or African Mangur. As they are being cultivated in unhygienic conditions and have enough potential to make people sick, their breeding centres are being destroyed. The National Green Tribunal in 2000 banned the cultivation of the Thai Mangur. So far, the State Government has destroyed 32 tonnes of Thai Mangur

The Mangur Fish was banned in India as the fish poses threats to other fishes in an ecosystem. A study in Mumbai says hat the Mangur fish is responsible for 70% decline in native fish species of the country In spite of several drawbacks, cultivation of Mangur and their sales is popular for its surviving capabilities. The fish grows 3 feet to 5 feet. They can survive even in mud waters between rains. Other factors such as omnivorous diet, burrowing capabilities, ability to survive on land and ability to hide in vegetation make the species easy and economical for farming. RCF started its Methanol Plant at Trombay Unit Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd, a PSU under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers has started its Methanol Plant at Trombay Unit, Mumbai from 8th September 2020. This is a step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.

RCF has the capacity to produce 242 MT of Methanol per day. Till now, RCF has been importing Methanol for its internal consumption and also for trading purposes. With Methanol production of its own, RCF shall no longer be dependent on imports for its own requirement and will also be in a position to satisfy the needs of other Methanol dependent industries. With this, RCF has entered the select list of Methanol producers in the country, providing alternate to import and thus contributing towards Government’s ambitious ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ Abhiyaan. Methanol is widely being used in the production of pharmaceuticals, pesticides, dyestuff etc. With very limited domestic production, the requirement was being met till now with imports.

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Government inaugurated “Bharat Air Fibre Services” at Akola in Maharashtra Government of India, inaugurated “Bharat Air Fibre Services” at Akola in Maharashtra. With inauguration of Bharat Air Fibre services, residents of Akola & Washim district will get Wireless Internet Connections on demand. The Bharat Air Fibre services are introduced by BSNL as part of digital India initiates by the Government of India and it aims of providing Wireless Connectivity in the range of 20 KMs from the BSNL Locations and thus customers at remote places also will be benefitted as BSNL comes with cheapest services with support of Telecom Infrastructure Partners (TIPs). BSNL is providing the “Bharat Air Fibre Services” through local business partners of BSNL from Akola & Washim District and these services will give fastest internet connectivity in quick time.

When BSNL will be increasing its customer base with this high Technology services, at the same time BSNL is giving a great opportunity to local residents of Akola and Washim District to join hands with BSNL as Telecom Infrastructure Partners.

They will earn regular monthly income of about one lakh per month thereby becoming self-reliable under “Atma Nirbhar Bharat” initiatives of Govt of India. These Bharat Air Fibre services opens new way of fastest Wireless internet connectivity as well Voice services in reasonable cost. BSNL is successfully providing Landline/ Broadband & Fibre FTTH connections. In Month July 20, BSNL has provided 15000 FTTH connections in Maharashtra Circle and 162000 FTTH connections throughout India.

With launch of Wireless Bharat Air Fibre, more connections will be provided on demand in very quick time. BSNL appeals to all residents of Akola & Washim District to avail these quality & most affordable services. Centre Approved Funds for Implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Maharashtra The Central Govt has approved funding of 1,829 crore rupees for the effective implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Maharashtra for 2020-21 on the basis of the Annual Action Plan (AAP) for 2020- 21 presented by Maharashtra to the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation. State has planned to provide 100% tap connections to all the households in the State by 2023-24. Maharashtra plans to provide tap connections to 31.30 lakh households in 2020-21. Out of 1.42 Crore rural households in Maharashtra, 53.11 lakh households have already got tap connections. The state has an unspent balance of Rs 285.35 crore. It adds that along with Central allocation and a matching state share, the total fund available will be Rs 3,908 crore.

Further, the 15th Commission has allocated grants worth Rs 5,827 crore that has to be compulsorily spent on supply of drinking water, rainwater harvesting and water recycling besides sanitation and maintenance of open defecation- free (ODF) status. Pune-based defence institute developed microwave steriliser Atulya to kill COVID- 19 Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, Pune developed a microwave steriliser ‘Atulya’ that can disintegrate the novel Coronavirus within 30 seconds by differential heating in the range of 56 degrees to 60 degrees celsius temperatures.

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The steriliser was tested for human/operator safety and has been found to be safe depending upon the size and shape of various objects. Atulya is a cost-effective solution that can be operated in portable or fixed installations and weighs around 3 kilograms (Kg). It can be used for sterilisation of non-metallic objects only.

The DIAT is a deemed university under the ministry’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). DRDO has developed several products including ventilators, personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, large area sanitisation solutions and Covid-19 sample collection kiosks to fight against Coronavirus. DRDO has also stepped forward to provide medical oxygen plants to hospitals in far-flung areas to generate their own oxygen supply.

The armed forces have also come up with a raft of innovations to combat the pandemic from modifying quadcopters to spray disinfectants over large areas to ultraviolet light sanitisers, assisted respiratory systems and 3- D printed masks. The different wings of the defence ministry including the armed forces, the DRDO and the Ordnance Factory Board have designed and developed a wide range of products to control the spread of pandemic. Mee Annapurna initiative launched for farmers welfare across Maharashtra Maharashtra state government has announced a 3 year empanelment of insurance companies and intermediaries for implementation of crop insurance scheme ‘Mee Annapurna’ for farmers welfare across Maharashtra. It is an initiative that integrates three critical aspects of livelihood and comprehensive engagement for farmers welfare across Maharashtra. It revolves around the three commandments – Expertise, Engagement and Entitlement As more small and marginal farmers are forced to take daily wage labor on large lands for survival, the state government is likely to face a major challenge to bring them back into the institutional credit system after the lockdown is eliminated. Farmers should be given adequate loans to cover the input expenditure for farming.

Without concrete measures, 40 to 45% farmers will be forced to take up daily wage work on bigger farmlands or explore alternative jobs. In view of this, Maharashtra announced a 3 year empanelment of insurance companies and intermediaries. The tender was issued on the guidelines of Revamped Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. Post-launch of the guidelines, the insurance company announced this initiative. It is an Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India licensed insurance intermediary since 2004 & is one of the India’s leading distributors of diversified insurance products and services and specialize in Risk Management, Claim consultancy, Insurance Placement & Government Business. Maharashtra signed MOUs worth Rs 16,100 crore with 12 global corporations

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The Maharashtra government has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) with 12 global corporations from China, US, South Korea, Singapore and Indian companies with investment worth Rs 16,100 crore on June 15, 2020. The Magnetic Maharashtra 2.0 was launched on 15 June, 2020 in the presence of Thackeray, Industries Minister Subhash Desai, and senior bureaucrats of the government with global business leaders and representatives of bilateral investment agencies.

The Memorandum of Understanding worth Rs 16,100 crore were signed for various developmental projects in information technology, I-T enabled services, automobile, oil and petroleum, chemicals, logistics and food processing sectors. Around 40,000-acre land has been earmarked for these projects. The Indian companies that signed the MoUs, include United Phosphorus of Rs 5,000 crore for a chemical plant in Raigad, Isambe Logistics of Rs 1,500 crore in Raigad, Varun Beverages of Rs 820 crore for food processing in Ahmednagar and Hiranandai Group of Rs 150 core for logistics in Pune and Thane. Some of the prominent companies investing in Maharashtra include ExxonMobil, Great Wall Motors Company, API Motors and United Phosphorus. Mumbai Central station to be renamed as Nana Shankarsheth Mumbai Central railway station Maharashtra Government has approved to rename the Mumbai Central Station as Nana Shankarsheth Mumbai Central Railway Station. The Mumbai Central Station has been re-named to Nana Shankarsheth Central Railway Station as his involvement in the formation of Indian Railway association was pivotal to the country.

The Bombay Central is designed by British architect Claude Batley. The first railway in India ran over 21 miles from Bombay to Thane. Jagannath (Nana) Shankarsheth is a Maharashtrian philanthropist and educationist (1803-1865), he contributed a lot for the development of Mumbai. He is the First Indian to be nominated in the Legislative Council of Bombay. ARI scientists developed biofortified high-protein wheat variety Agharkar Research Institute (ARI) in Pune, Maharashtra, have developed ‘MACS 4028’, a biofortified wheat variety, which shows high-protein content of around 14.7% good nutritional quality having zinc 40.3 ppm, and iron content of 40.3ppm and 46.1ppm (parts per million) respectively. The development done by the scientist has been published in the Indian Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding.

MACS 4028, a semi-dwarf variety, matures in a period of 102 days and has a very good yielding ability of 19.3 quintals per hectare. This variety also shows a better resistance to crop disease like stem rust, leaf rust and common pests of dryland wheat including foliar aphids, root aphids, brown wheat mite. It has been included under the Biofortified category by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) during the year 2019.

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The MACS 4028 variety is also included by the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) programme for United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to alleviate malnutrition in a sustainable way and can boost the Vision 2022 “Kuposhan Mukt Bharat”, the National Nutrition Strategy. IIT Alumni Council Launches India’s first COVID-19 test bus in Mumbai Indian Institute of Technology Alumni Council has launched a “COVID-19 test bus” in Mumbai, Maharashtra and inaugurated by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackery, Health Minister Rajesh Tope and Praveen Pardeshi. The COVID-19 Testing bus will reduce 80% of the testing cost without compromising on the testing capacity.

According to the IIT alumni council, a global alumni body for all the 23 IITs this will increase the testing capacity within 100 days and support the health department in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic.

The IIT C19 bus is based on the Kodoy architecture model that is made to support the affordable and rapid testing which involves e-vehicles for contactless sample collections and Telemedicine, AI-based teleradiology and algorithm based on pooled genetic testing and mega-labs capable of conducting upto 5 million tests per month per lab.A digital Chest X-ray will be carried out and sent to the doctors online and the healthcare staff will use AI to see the probability of the person having coronavirus. Swab from mouth and throat done across a glass screen to protect the technician from any kind of contact with the patient and the samples are sent to the diagnostic centers. The bus has the capacity to collect 10-15 samples per hour. ADB & India signed loan agreement for road improvements in Maharashtra Asian Development Bank signed a USD 177 million loan with Government of India to upgrade 11 state highways & 2 major district roads with a combined length of 450 km, to 2-lane standard across seven districts of Maharashtra.

The project will enhance the connectivity between rural areas and urban centers in the state to enable rural communities to better access markets, employment opportunities and services. The project will improve connectivity to national highways, interstate roads, seaports, airports, rail hubs, district headquarters, industrial areas, enterprise clusters and agricultural areas. Improved mobility will expand growth and livelihood opportunities outside the major urban centers of the state to second-tier cities and towns thus reducing income disparities.

It will strengthen road safety measures by developing a road safety audit framework that will protect vulnerable groups such as the elderly, women, and children, following the international best practice. One of the features of the project is to update the road maintenance system by encouraging 5-year performance- based maintenance obligations to contractors to sustain asset quality and service levels. Focus- The project will focus on training the Maharashtra Public Works Department project staff to develop their capacity in climate change adaptation and disaster resilient features in road design, road maintenance planning and road safety.

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Maharashtra donated the highest number of organs in 2019 Maharashtra has donated the highest number of organs which resulted beneficial for 449 patients. The state overtook Tamil Nadu and Telangana in the field of organ donation. Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation-State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO-SOTTO) along with four Zonal Transplant Coordination Centre (ZTCC)of Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, and Aurangabad in Maharashtra were the top performers. On the occasion of the 10th Indian Organ Donation Day on 30th November 2019, the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation(NOTTO) presented the best state award to Maharashtra in the field of deceased organ donation.

The ZTCC’s of Maharashtra in association with local Non-Governmental Organization(NGOs) conducted 387 awareness driven activities including rallies, talks, padayatras, marathons, stalls at religious festivals, competitions on organ donation to programmes for societies, corporates, security forces and police. India loses 750 tigers during 2012-2019; Madhya Pradesh topped National Tiger Conservation Authority as a reply to RTI query, 750 tigers have died in the country in the last eight years i.e. between 2012 and 2019 due to poaching and other causes.

The state of Madhya Pradesh has topped these figures with highest casualities at 173. 38 were due to poaching, 94 natural deaths, 19 under scrutiny, six due to the unnatural causes and 16 seizures. Notably, Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of 526 tigers in the country. Of the total tiger mortalities, 369 were due to natural causes, 168 due to poaching, 70 deaths are under scrutiny and 42 due to unnatural reasons, including accident or conflicts events.

There was also seizure of 101 big cats during the eight year period between 2012 and 2019 by different authorities across the country. Maharashtra has reported second highest deaths, as it lost 125 big cats during this period followed by 111 in Karnataka, 88 in Uttarakhand, 54 each in Tamil Nadu and Assam, 35 each in Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, 17 in Rajasthan, 11 in Bihar and West Bengal and 10 in Chhattisgarh. 7 each such deaths were reported in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, 5 in Telangana, 2 each in Delhi and Nagaland, and one each in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat. Maharashtra launched Shiv Bhojan Tali Scheme Maharashtra Govenrment launched the Shiv Bhojan Scheme at the 71st celebrations of Republic Day. The scheme will offer meals at Rs 10 to the poor

On the eve of Republic Day, at least one Shiv Bhojan canteen was started at the district head quarters all over the state. The scheme aims at providing meals to the poor at designated centres during stipulated time.

The scheme aims at providing affordable, quality food to all. The State Government has estimated that the scheme would cost Rs 6.4 crores and is expected to run for three months. Also, the centres of the scheme are to opened at places where the below poverty line citizens live. Also, it is to be opened in areas like district hospitals, markets, railway stations. Initially the

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Government has planned to set up 50 such centres. The numbers are to be increased based on the feedback. Nagpur Oranges Exported to Dubai first Time The first Consignment of Nagpur Oranges were sent to Dubai from Navi Mumbai in refrigerated containers. In the state of Maharashtra, around 40 hectares of land is under cultivation of Nagpur oranges. The APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) selected Nagpur district as a cluster for oranges under Agriculture Export Policy.

The production of the fruit is increasing in central and western India. The Mrig crop that matures between February and March has great potential for export. This is because arrival of these fruits are less in the international market during this period. The International trade of oranges in the year 2018 was 10,183 million USD. In 2018-19, India produced 8,781 thousand tonnes of oranges. The monsoon flowering, that is during June is called Mrig. These crops are available for harvest between November and March. ‘Cyber Safe Women’ campaign launched by state cyber police in Maharashtra The cyber police launched ‘Cyber Safe Women’ campaign to mark the birth anniversary of a social reformer, Savitribai Phule in Maharashtra. It is a joint initiative of the Maharashtra state government, Maharashtra Cyber and Maharashtra police. The main aim of this initiative is to reduce the cyber crimes against women and children.

This campaign will be launched in 34 districts and 90 places at once across the state. To create awareness among women and children, cybercrime police will conduct presentations and lectures across the state. These cyber crimes include stalking, picture morphing, online abuse and defamation, sextortion, pornography and child pornography, matrimonial and dating apps fraud. 5th edition of ‘The pulses conclave 2020’ hold in Maharashtra India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA) hosted the 5th edition of its biennial conference, ‘The Pulses Conclave 2020’ from February 12 – 14, 2020 at the Aamby Valley City in Lonavala, Maharashtra.

The Conclave aimed at increasing domestic production and consumption & other areas of the trade like improving processing efficiencies, increasing consumption, exports, value addition, post-harvest crop management, etc. About 1000 delegates are expected to participate in the Conclave with trade delegations from all major pulses producing countries like Canada, USA, Australia, Myanmar, Russia, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, etc. The Conference will help in achieving Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to double the farmer’s income by 2022.

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India is the largest producer & consumer of pulses in the world accounting for around 25 % of global production, 27 % of global consumption. Mumbai to get India’s largest air quality monitoring network Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will develop an air quality monitoring network across 90 locations in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It will be the largest network in India. The new project is led by Non-Government Organisation (NGO) Conservation Action Trust (CAT) & partnered by pan-India air pollution research groups Respirer Living Sciences Private Limited (UrbanSciences) and Urban Emissions.

The project will be completed within next 5 years, funded by BMC and private organisations. BMC is planning to invest Rs.9.5 crores to install 80 real-time air monitoring stations and the new project overrtakes Delhi, which has 38 air quality networks at present. At present, Mumbai has 30 air quality monitoring stations: 15 stations come under Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), 10 under System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) and 5 under BMC. According to the survey from CSE (Center of Science & Environment) Mumbai ranked first among 24 peninsular cities with the dangerous concentration of PM10 (Particulate Matter 10- solid and liquid particles less than 10 microns suspended in air).

The air in Mumbai had PM10 concentrations of 166 µg/m3 (microgrammes per cubic meter), which is highly toxic & up to 3 times the safe standard of 60 µg/m3. Marathi language compulsory across all schools in Maharashtra Maharashtra state government assembly has unanimously approved a law, compulsory “ Maharashtra Compulsory Teaching and Learning of Marathi Language in Schools Bill, 2020 ” to make Marathi Language as a mandatory subject in all schools of the state. As per the bill, schools which fails to implement the new rule have to pay a penalty of Rs. 1 lakh. Marathi will become a compulsory subject in all schools from Class I to Class X in the academic year 2020-2021. Initially Marathi language will Introduced from class I to VI and shall be Extended to further classes in subsequent years. In 2024 Marathi subject will be taught from Class I to Class X and the schools will follow a curriculum prescribed by the government.

This law will be applicable to all boards like CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education), CISCE (Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations), IB (International Baccalaureate) board, IGSCE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education), NIOS (National Institute of Open Schooling). Maharashtra state Government Minister for Marathi Language Subhash Desai introduced the Bill in the Lower House and the development came on Marathi Bhasha Din (Marathi language day) which is celebrated on February 27, the birth anniversary of poet and Jnanpith award winner late Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar.

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Marathi teaching and assessment of students in Marathi will be a mandatory condition for granting the government’s no-objection certificate for schools and The Bill was initially introduced in the Legislative Assembly and then in the Legislative Council. IIT Bombay developed two apps “Corontine” and “Safe” to track violations by those in quarantine Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay developed 2 mobile applications called “Corontine” and “Safe”, that can track violations by people supposed to be in quarantine. The app has been developed by Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) Department students, teachers along with some professionals and an alumnus. The app helps authorities by checking the suspected carriers are confined in their quarantine zones. It uses geo-fencing & automatically generates alerts if suspected people move out of the quarantine zone. The app can be installed on the mobile phones of asymptomatic carriers (AC) by an authorised agency (AA). It will send GPS (Global Positioning System) coordinates of the mobiles periodically to the server under the supervision of AA & automatically detect when the user moves a specified quarantine zone marked by geo-fence.

The quarantined individual will take a selfie, say for 4 times a day & the authorities check whether they are in the desired location. The violations can be checked on the authenticated user interface. The safe app was used by several students of IIT-Bombay to mark their attendance in class or exams. Maharashtra launched world’s Largest Plasma Therapy Trial under Project ‘Platina’ Maharashtra government has launched the World’s largest Convalescent Plasma Therapy Trial project was launch on 29th June 2020. The name of the project is Platina. The project was virtually launched by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray. For this trial project, the Indian Council of Medical Research has given the approval to conduct plasma therapy in COVID-19 positive patients admitted in the 21 COVID-19 hospitals of the Maharashtra State Government.

In the absence of a definite treatment or drugs for the COVID-19 positive patients, Convalescent Plasma Therapy has shown encouraging results on patients across the world. As Maharashtra has been the worst-hit state in India by the COVID-19 pandemic, trial under project Platina will help in creating a robust data for the use of Convalescent Plasma Therapy. The project will also help in establishing an infrastructure for plasma treatment in the state. Costs of Plasma Therapy trials under the project will be borne by the State Government of Maharashtra. From Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, Rs 16.85 crores have been sanctioned for the project. Under the trial project, two doses of 200 ml of convalescent plasma will be given to all critical patients in 21 State Government-run COVID-19 Hospitals of Maharashtra. Maharashtra Announced “Maha Parwana” to Attract Fresh Industrial Investment Maharashtra announced the “Maha Parwana” to attract fresh investment in industries, for project execution, this plan will offer incentives and a single window clearance system.

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The companies with investment proposals for Rs.50 crore or more will get relaxation on getting clearances from multiple departments with assurance letters (Maha Parwana). These companies should apply at the Maharashtra Industry, Trade and Investment Facilitation Cell (MAITRI), single window system and get an online permission within 48 hours.

The industries enrolled under the Maha Parwana will get the 25 odd statutory permissions and clearances from the other state departments within 30 days. If the clearance is not provided within 30 days it will be automatically deemed as cleared. For the existing and new industries the state government has proposed to provide “plug and play” infrastructure to support the investors and reduce the capital investment.

The acceleration system is announced for the non-polluting industries under the Orange and Green criteria of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board. The non-polluting units under the Orange and Green criteria of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board can take advantage of the proposal. IIT Bombay Researchers Developed Chip ‘Dhruva’ to Navigate Locations Indian Institute of Technology Bombay led by Rajesh Zele from the Department of Electrical Engineering have created a chip named ‘Dhruva’ that can be mounted in smartphones and navigation devices to find places and routes within the country. To locate the accurate position of the device, Dhruva sends and receives radio signals to India’s NAVIC (NAVigation with Indian Constellation) group of navigation satellites as well as US Global Positioning System(GPS)-based satellites to accurately determine these under all weather conditions. Developed in just 18 months, the chip can receive in multiple frequency bands viz. 1.176 GHz (NAVIC L5 band), 1.227 GHz (GPS L2 band), 1.575 GHz (GPS L1 band), and 2.492 GHz (NAVIC S band) and handle weak signals. In addition, it can be converted into digital bits and processed by any standard digital signal processor (DSP) to accurately determine any location.

The Dhruva project was funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), with SAMEER (Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research) & Space Applications Centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Worldwide navigation: Different countries have their own navigation satellite systems, including the Global Positioning System (GPS) of the US, the Russian Federation Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), Galileo in Europe, Baidu and China Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS). In such a situation, Dhruva can be an effective navigation option in India. Maharashtra Chief Minister launched Maha Jobs Portal Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray launched ‘Maha Jobs’, a portal on 6th July 2020 that will bridge the gap between the Industrial Units/Employers and the Workers. Anyone can access the portal by visiting- ‘mahajobs.maharashtra.gov.in’. For registration in the Maha Jobs portal, a domicile certificate of the state of Maharashtra is compulsory for the workers. Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) will be the nodal agency for the successful functioning of the Maha Jobs portal. The portal is a joint venture between 3 Departments of the

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Maharashtra State Government. The departments are the Department of Labour, Department of Industries, and the Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Department. The aim of the Maha Jobs portal is to address the rising unemployment and layoffs that the state has witnessed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Jobs from a total of 17 sectors will be available under the portal, such as the Healthcare sector, IT, Logistics, Engineering, textile, etc.

The portal will help in the resumption of business and industries in the state of Maharashtra, which will further help in recreating the economic cycle in the state that was disrupted due to the nationwide lockdown imposed against the COVID-19 pandemic. 1st tri-dimensional expedition ‘Maha-Navy Connect 2020’ Indian Navy launched the first tri-dimensional expedition ‘Maha-Navy Connect 2020’ to promote the heritage of Indian Navy and to spread awareness about Coastal Security amongst the coastal communities in Maharashtra.

It was flagged of by Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar P. The expedition continues till January 11, 2020. The tri-dimensional expedition consists of yachting, running and cycling teams of 50 naval personnel.

This expedition will cover more than 555kms from the Maharashtra’s northernmost fort Arnala to its southernmost Sindhudurg fort. On their way the teams will touch Kanhoji Angre (Khanderi), Revdanda, Korlai, Murud-Janjira, Raigad, Suvarnadurg, Jaigad, Ratnadurg, Purnagad, Vijaydurg and Devgad forts. Country’s 1st and biggest ‘walk-through’ aviary inaugurated at Byculla Zoo in Maharashtra Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray inaugurated the country’s first and biggest ‘walk-through’ aviary in Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo also known as Byculla Zoo in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The aviary is spread over in 18,234 sq ft, is 44 feet tall and consists of 100 species of Indian and exotic birds. The special enclosures for animals like bears, hyenas, leopards, fox, barasingha and antelope are completed and Asiatic Lion, tigers will be included soon.

He also inaugurated ‘Miyawaki’ method, at Bhakti Park in Wadala, Maharashtra to increase cover in Mumbai. This method is about planting maximum trees in minimum area and it will be implemented in 64 locations in the state. Tourism Minister of Mahrashtra Aaditya Thackeray, Mumbai City’s Guardian Minister Aslam Shaikh, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar, Municipal Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi and Mumbai Zoo Director Dr Sanjay Tripathi. 17th edition of Crossword Books Awards held in Maharashtra The 17th edition of Crossword Book Awards was held in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The Crossword Book Award is the only forum in India that gives a face to Indian authors and Indian literature, with well- rounded jury mining gems from the length and breadth of the country.

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In 17th edition of Crossword Book Awards, Twinkle Khanna won the Popular Best Fiction Award for her novel ‘Pyjamas Are Forgiving’. This novel is about a woman named Anshu, who has difficulty sleeping and therefore checks herself into a spa in Kerala, and there she finds her ex-husband and his younger wife and suddenly several unsettling, repressed feelings begins to rush back.

This book contains Khanna’s signature self-deprecating, wry sense of humour, and tells the story with a deep insight into human nature. Govt inaugurated 31st Road Safety Campaign in Maharashtra Transport department in Maharashtra observed 31st Road Safety Week from 11th-17th Jan 2020. Union transport Minister Nitin Jairam Gadkari inaugurated 31st Road Safety Campaign organised by Regional Transport Office, Traffic Police and District Road Safety Committee in Nagpur, Maharashtra. To ensure transparency and accuracy on the use of e-governance in license issuance process and also test for license will be carried through computers in Pune and Mumbai centres. Union Minister also said that there is a proposal to establish 2,000 centres for issuing the vehicle fitness and PUC (Pollution Under Control) certificate to vehicles. He also mentioned about the recent provisions of the Amended Motor Vehicle Act, in which financial assistance will be provided to the social organizations which are involved in spreading the awareness about road safety.

The Minister also chaired District Road Safety Committee meeting after the inauguration, and also instructed NHAI (National Highway Authority of India) and traffic police department to avoid road accident in Nagpur district. Mumbai airport gets world’s largest ‘Export Cold Zone’ to Store Agro, Pharma Products Mumbai International Airport Limited has unveiled the world’s largest airport-based temperature- controlled facility, the ‘Export Cold Zone’ for processing and storage of agro and pharma products, for which Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport will be the largest export gateway. The Export Cold Zone facility with over 700 tonnes of such cargo at one time with a combined annual capacity of 5.25 lakh tones, will be operated by cargo handling service provider and MIAL’s business partner, Cargo Service Centre.

The facility also installed with 12 truck docks with dock- levellers, spacious acceptance and examination area, automated workstations, X-Ray machines, unit load device (ULD) storage, ballmat system for ULD transfer and cold rooms. Mumbai airport,which connects to over 500 cargo destinations across 175 countries through 60 airlines, is the first airport in India and the 3rd in Asia to receive the IATA CEIV ( International Air Transport Association-Center of Excellence for Independent Validators) Pharma accreditation, a global industry recognition helping the air transport industry. The airport has also launched an air cargo community portal, GMAX, which enables stakeholders to access mobile applications that offer real-time tracking of shipment, which helps in delivering customised handling solutions.

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Maharashtra registered maximum number of missing women The highest number (33,964) of women who go missing in India are from Maharashtra & the number of missing children are maximum (10, 038) in the State of Madhya Pradesh (MP) in the year 2016, 2017 & 2018 according to the report titled ‘missing women and children in India’ released by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), an Indian government agency responsible for collecting and analyzing crime data. In the year 2019, the Supreme Court (SC) had directed NCRB to analyze the data related to the missing persons (especially women and children) to identify the areas to be trafficked. The data for the analysis has been taken from the annual Crime in India (CII) report compiled by the NCRB for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Missing women data: According to the report, Maharashtra registered the highest number of missing women followed by West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh during 2016, 2017 and 2018.

In Maharashtra, 28,316 women went missing in 2016, 29,279 in 2017 and 33,964 in 2018.Mumbai and Pune (Maharashtra), Kolkata (West Bengal) and Indore (Madhya Pradesh) recorded the highest number of such incidents. The number of missing children are highest in the State of Madhya Pradesh, followed by West Bengal, Delhi and Bihar. During the year 2016, 2017 and 2018 63,407, 63,349 and 67,134 children were reported missing across India respectively. According to this report, the number of missing children in Indore, Madhya Pradesh were 596 and 823 respectively during the year 2017 and 2018.

Kolkata district of West Bengal has the highest number of missing children (989) during the year 2018. The number of missing children in Nadia district bordering Bangladesh increased from 291 in 2017 to 474 in 2018. Auto-rickshaws “happy hours” reducing 15% of fare prices from 12 pm to 4 pm Maharashtra Government has approved the implementation of “happy hours” for auto rickshaws, reducing 15% of fare prices from 12 pm to 4 pm, barring the minimum fare for first 1.5 km, as recommended by Khatua panel. The decision will not be applicable to local taxis and app-based taxis. The panel also recommended a new concept will turn lean hours to happy hours, for housewives and senior citizens who normally don’t have a fixed schedule for their outings.

The auto-rickshaw union have indicated that they will oppose the move while the citizens appreciated the move. IIT-Bombay developed ‘digital stethoscope’ which can hear heartbeat from a distance Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay has developed a “digital stethoscope” that can listen to hear beats from a distance and record them. Thus the smart stethoscope minimises the risk to doctors and health care professionals who are handling COVID- 19 (Coronavirus) patients.

The IIT-B team has received a patent for the device that records the auscultated sound from lungs & store it as a part of patient’s health record and the data can be shared with other doctors for analysis.

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The data or the auscultated sound from a patient’s chest is wirelessly sent to the doctor using Bluetooth. The team in collaboration with “AyuDevice”, a startup company in IIT-B campus, has sent 1,000 digital stethoscopes to different hospitals and healthcare centers across the country.

The product has been developed with clinical inputs from doctors at Reliance Hospital and PD Hinduja Hospital. Pune Municipal Corporation designed ‘Saiyam app’ to track home quarantined people Pune Municipal Corporation has developed a mobile application called ‘Saiyam’ under the Smart City Mission (SCM) with the aim to ensure effective monitoring of home quarantine citizens, who have recently returned from international trips and those discharged after treatment for coronavirus (COVID-19). The application has GPS (Global Positioning System) tracking, which gives the urban administration an immediate alert in the event of quarantine citizens moving out of the house and a notification is sent to the local ward or local police, after which the family is contacted. The concerned people have instructions to keep the mobile running for 24 hours and to keep the GPS open at all times. The movement of the isolates will be observed in Red, Amber or Green, as in the central observatory. The red color shows that people are out of long-term; Yellow means the people are doing limited movement; green means that the people are indoors.

The city administration has appointed teams, which will check if those under home quarantine have downloaded the app & it will regularly check for people about their health and contact them to see if different foods, bed, utensils, clothes and washrooms have been provided to the stamped people. Maharashtra became the first state to announces free and cashless insurance to the people Maharashtra became the first state to provide free and cashless insurance protection to the people and the covered under the state government health scheme and for the treatment of COVID-19 patients at the private hospitals in Pune and Mumbai the government has signed an MoU with the General Insurance Public Sector Association. Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope mentioned that the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY) will cover 85% of the population and it will be extended to the remaining 15%. To include the government, semi-government employees and white ration card holders under the scheme to prevent private hospitals from overcharging the patients the government has signed a memorandum.

To standardise the treatment fees at all the hospitals different packages will be designed for all diseases. The Maharashtra government has capped the fees for the treatment of private hospitals based on the Disaster Management Act and Epidemic Act and the hospitals without the tie-up with the GIPSA to standardise their treatment fees. IIT-Bombay Professor Saurabh Lodha received Young Career Award 2020

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IIT Bombay professor Saurabh Lodha of Electrical Engineering has received Young Career Award 2020 in Nano Science and Technology by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India to recognize his contribution for the development of two dimensional Van der Waals material based logic transistor technologies beyond silicon and nanoelectronic. Prof. Lodha for eight years worked with Applied Materials Inc. one of the world’s largest semiconductor equipment manufacturers on technological challenges causing distress beyond- silicon transistors workhouse devices which fuel 90% of all electronics.

He has developed new materials and processes to improve the thermal stability and reliability of the thin (1-2 nm) gate dielectric of the transistor and lower the resistance of metal contacts to the transistor and to obtain electrical impurities at a higher level and reduce the failure rate and last longer. His works are incorporated in semiconductor equipment for advanced transistor technologies which are presented in top device conferences across the globe. He also worked on discovering the flat two dimensional materials analogous to graphene besides his works on transistors that run computing and communication electronics. He is an alumnus of IIT Bombay and Purdue University, USA working on the capabilities and expertise for developing power electronic transistors based on silicon carbide and gallium oxide semiconductors with wide bandgap. Maharashtra govt e-launched ‘I-FLOWS’ a flood warning system Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray e-launched the state-of-the-art Integrated Flood Warning System (I-FLOWS) in Mumbai with an aim to alleviate and monitor the flood activities by providing early warning in the city during high rainfall and cyclone events.

Mumbai got the India’s 2nd Integrated flood warning system after Chennai(Chennai gets India’s first integrated flood warning system last year). The system can estimate floods up to 3 days in advance, It was developed by India Meteorological Department (IMD) and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) functioning under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).

The system also provides 3 hours – 6 hours nowcast i.e immediate weather updates and in low lying areas forecasts up to 12 hours in advance. Key People Present at the e-launch were M Rajeevan, Secretary (MoES), Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director-general, IMD, KS Hosalikar, Deputy-director General of Meteorology (DDGM), IMD Mumbai and Ravi Nanjundiah, Director, IITM, Pune. DIAT Developed “ANANYA” nanotechnology based disinfectant spray to fight COVID-19 Pune based Defence Institute of Advanced Technology has developed “ANANYA” water based disinfectant spray with nanotechnology assisted formulation. This can be used by the general public and healthcare workers and can be used for individual and large scale purposes. The toxicity level of the spray is negligible to humans and it stays effective for more than 24 hours. The spray can be stored and used for more than 6 months.

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The spray can be used on contaminated surfaces like masks, PPE, hospital linens, medical instruments, elevator buttons, door knobs, corridors and rooms. The spray is effective on materials like fabric, plastics and metallic objects.

The formulation of the ANANYA prevents the entry of coronavirus into the human body and kills the virus that gets in contact with the layer sprayed with the disinfectant. Maharashtra inaugurated world’s 2nd Largest & Asia’s Largest Data Centre Maharashtra CM inaugurated the World’s 2nd Largest & Asia’s Largest Data Center, ‘Yotta NM1 Data Center’ of Yotta Infrastructure of Hiranandani Group at Panvel data centre park, Mumbai over a virtual platform. Yotta NM1 is the first of five data centre buildings coming up at the Integrated Yotta Data Center Park. To utilise India’s full potential to become a data driven economy, the government is working on bringing investments in building data centres across the nation. The center can offer a high scale infrastructure which is capable of hosting global cloud, content and Over-the- top operators besides the critical applications of the government and other organisations.

The NM1 data centre will occupy one of the five buildings of the 18 acres Panvel park of total capacity of 30000 racks and 210 Megawatt power. The NM1 data centre offers 7200 racks and 50 MW of power with 48 hour backup support. The NM1, Yotta’s largest data centre, received the fault tolerant tier IV certification of the Design Documents Certification from the Uptime Institute, USA.

The certification assures that the centre is capable of handling customers applications and workloads despite structural failure. Maharashtra became the 1st State to use drones to inspect power lines and transmission towers Maharashtra became the 1st state to use drones for aerial surveillance and inspection of extra high voltage (EHV) power transmission lines and towers.

MSETCL becomes the 1st power utility to get approval from DGCA for powerline inspections with drones in the country MSETCL will use 16 drones that will fly at a maximum height of 50 metre. These drones will reduce the risk posed to its staff, as the workers earlier must use ladders and chairs to inspect transformers.

The constant video recording will help for better assessment in faults of the existing lines It can cut maintenance costs and losses from outages and is more efficient than manual survey. Each zone will be given a drone. The zonal office, the head office in Mumbai will be monitoring the drones. The drone camera will also be used for survey work in new projects.

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Maharashtra launched World’s Largest Convalescent Plasma Therapy-Cum-Trial Project Maharashtra government has launched world’s largest convalescent plasma therapy-cum-trial project, ‘Platina’ to treat COVID-19 patients, through video conference at Nagpur’s government medical college. It will benefit 500 lives of critically ill COVID-19 patients in the state. Rs 16.65 crore is allocated for this project from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund

He also inaugurated 4 other services namely; plasma donation, plasma bank, plasma trial, and emergency authorisation at the college. The trial- treatment of plasma therapy will be free of cost, in 17 medical colleges under the department of medical education and drugs, and four medical colleges under the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation with 21 centres. The critical patients will receive two doses of 200 ml convalescent plasma. This therapy will create an infrastructure of plasmapheresis in all medical colleges in various districts of the state.

The state plans to take this study further and isolate MONOCLONAL antibodies developed against COVID (virus) from plasma. The project is solely a government-sponsored trial and no private or financial involvement from any company is involved. Ashadhi Ekadashi festival celebrated in Maharashtra Ashadhi Ekadashi is one of the most significant festivals in Maharashtra. It is also marks the culmination of the pilgrimage undertaken by the Warkaris (devotees of Lord Vitthal) from different parts of the state on their feet to travel hundreds of kilometres to reach temple town Pandharpur in Solapur district. Ashadhi Ekadashi is the eleventh lunar day (Ekadashi) of the bright fortnight (Shukla paksha) of the Hindu month of Ashadha (June – July).

This holy day is of special significance to Vaishnavas, followers of Lord Vishnu. Ashadhi Ekadashi is one of the most significant festivals in Maharashtra. It also marks the culmination of the pilgrimage undertaken by the Warkaris (devotees of Lord Vitthal) from different parts of the state on their feet to travel hundreds of kilometres to reach temple town Pandharpur in Solapur district. EK Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Webinar on Maharshtra and Odisha The incredible journey of handlooms and weavers was shared in a webinar on Weaves of Maharashtra and Textiles of Odisha organized by Press Information Bureau, Mumbai and India Tourism, Mumbai. The webinar focused on different handlooms and fabrics belonging to Maharashtra and Odisha. Both these states are also ‘paired states’ under ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ Mission.

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The webinar was an initiative to weave the thread of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat and also honour the handloom weavers and also the handloom industry of these states. India celebrated National Handloom Day on 7th August to honour the handloom weavers in the country and also highlight the handloom industry.

August 7 was chosen as the National Handloom Day, to commemorate the Swadeshi Movement which was launched on this day in 1905 in the Calcutta Town hall to protest against partition of Bengal by the British Government. The initiative ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ was announced by Prime Minister on 31st October, 2015 on the occasion of the 140th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. This was launched to enhance the understanding and bonding between the states, thereby strengthening the unity and integrity of India. India and AIIB signed agreement for Mumbai Urban Transport Project-III Centre, Maharashtra Government, Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) have signed a loan agreement for a USD 500 million Mumbai Urban Transport Project-III. This will improve the network capacity, service quality and safety of the suburban railway system in Mumbai.

The Project is expected to increase network capacity in the region with the reduction in journey time and fatal accidents of commuters. It is estimated that among primary beneficiaries of the project, 22 per cent are female passengers who will benefit from improved safety and quality of service.

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