INDIAN AFFAIRS 16TH JANUARY 2019 Maharashtra government committed to double farmers’ income by 2022: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis On January 14, 2019, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reaffirmed the state government’s commitment towards doubling farmers income by 2022. i. According to his announcement,The government has approved Rs 24,000 crore worth loan waiver for the state’s 51 lakh farmers holding bank accounts, ii. It had also made available more than Rs 10,000 crore fund through budget in the current fiscal for implementation of various schemes, iii. Rs 15,240 crore worth compensation were distributed to farmers whose crops were damaged by natural calamity.He also mentioned about the government’s Jalyukta Shivar water conservation scheme. iv. Rs 34,000 crore was given for upgrading the dams in the state. Maharashtra: ♦ Capital: Mumbai. ♦ Chief Minister: Devendra Fadnavis. ♦ Governor: C. Vidyasagar Rao. ♦ National Parks: Tadoba Andheri Tiger Reserve, Chandoli National Park, Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Navegaon National Park PM Narendra Modi unveils slew of projects worth over Rs 1,550 cr in Odisha On 15th January 2019, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched a slew of Central government projects worth over Rs.1,550 crore in Balangir district of Odisha for accelerating the state’s development.Details of the Projects launched: i. The prime minister dedicated to the nation the electrification of Jharsuguda- Vizianagaram and Sambalpur-Angul railway lines spanning 813 km and completed at a cost of Rs 1,085 crore. ii. He also inaugurated the doubling of 14.2 km Barpali-Dungaripali and 17.3 km Balangir-Deogaon rail lines, completed at a cost of Rs 189.3 crore. iii. Besides a Multi-Modal Logistics Park (MMLP), spread over 28.3 acres and built at a cost of Rs 100 crore at Jharsuguda was also dedicated to the nation. iv. He also inaugurated the 15 km-long Balangir-Bichhupali ailway line laid at a cost of Rs 115 crore. It is part of the new 289-km Balangir-Khurda road line which connects to Howrah-Chennai main line on Khurda Road and Titlagarh-Sambalpur line at Balangir. v. A new train on Balangir-Bichhupali route was also flagged off by PM Modi. vi. Modi also inaugurated renovation and restoration works at Nilamadhav & Siddheswar Temple at Gandhaharadi in Boudh, Paschim Somnath group of temples, also in Boudh, and Ranipur Jharial group of monuments in Balangir. vii .Furthermore six Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) one each at Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Puri, Phulbani, Bargarh and Balangir were also inaugurated by PM. viii. Finally he laid the foundation stone for a permanent building of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Sonepur, to be constructed at a cost of Rs 15.81 crore and also inaugurated a Kendriya Vidyalaya at Rayagada. About Odisha: ♦ Chief Minister: Naveen Patnaik ♦ Governor: Ganeshi Lal ♦ Capital: Bhubaneswar 6th Women of India Organic Festival of WCD Ministry held in Chandigarh : On January 12, 2019,The Ministry of Women and Child Development organised the three-day 6th ‘Women of India Organic Festival’ in Chandigarh, to encourage the women farmers and entrepreneurs in the organic sector from the remotest parts of India.It Concludes on 14th January,2019. i. This programme is conducted twice in a year with a motive to connect the Indian women entreprenurs with with other buyers and create awarness about the importance of adopting organic products for a healthy and a environmental friendly life-style. ii. The Festival visualised over 1,000 varied organic products, including fabric, wellness, grains, seeds, jewellery, bakery items and a lot more. Pongal: Harvest festival celebrated largely in Tamil Nadu On 15th January 2019, Pongal a harvest festival started in Tamil Nadu. It is a four-day festival according to the Tamil calendar and it is usually celebrated from January 15 to January 18.Pongal means to boil. Rice is boiled in milk and offered firstly to the sun and then cows and then to the family and friends.Legends behind Pongal i. Pongal marks the beginning of the sun’s northward journey towards the equinox, known as Uttarayan. ii. The first day of Pongal is celebrated in honour of Lord Indra and is called Bogi or Bhogi Pongal. ii. The second day is dedicated to the Sun God and known as Surya Pongal. iii. On third day Jallikattu festival starts and is dedicated to cattle and called Mattu Pongal. iv. Fourth day marks the end of the festival for the year and is called Kaanum Pongal or Thiruvalluvar day. About Tamil Nadu ♦ Chief Minister: Shri Edapaddi Palaniswami ♦ Governor: Shri Banwaril Lal Purohit ♦ National parks: Mudumalai National Park, Mukurthi National Park, Indira Gandhi (Annamalai) National Park,Guindy National Park,Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park ♦ Wildlife sanctuary: Indira Gandhi (Annamalai) WLS,Kalakad WLS ,Karaivetti WLS , Karikili WLS, Mudumalai WLS, Pulicat Lake WLS , Vaduvoor WLS ,Vedanthangal WLS, Vettangudi WLS National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development(NIPCCD) inagurated at Mohali ,Punjab On January 14, 2019,Minister of Women and Child Development,Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi inaugurated Regional Centre of National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) at Mohali,Punjab. i. Addressing at the function,she stressed on the need for training and development of elected women representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) to ensure that fruitful development would reach the top level through their active participation and actual empowerment. ii. It is a premier organisation devoted to promotion of voluntary action research, training and documentation in the overall domain of women and child development.This organisation have already four such Regional Centres one each at Bangalore, Guwahati, Indore and Lucknow besides the Headquarters at New Delhi. First Annual Disarmament and International Security Affairs Fellowship Programme inaugurated in Delhi On 14th January 2019, the First Annual Disarmament and International Security Affairs Fellowship Programme was organised by Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. The event will be concluded on 1st February 2019. Key Points: i. The event was inaugurated by the United Nations Under Secretary General and High Representative for Disarmament, Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu, and Foreign Secretary, Shri Vijay Keshav Gokhale. ii. The Fellowship Programme, which is being held at the Foreign Services Institute, New Delhi will be attended by Young Diplomats from 27 countries. iii. Multiple issues related to disarmament and international security such as global security environment, weapons of mass destruction, certain conventional weapons, space security, maritime cooperation, security of cyberspace, export controls, emerging technologies etc. will be covered in the programme. iv. The aim of the programme is to equip participants with knowledge and perspectives on various issues related to disarmament, non-proliferation, arms control and international security. About Ministry of External Affairs: ♦ Minister: Sushma Swaraj ♦ Minister of State: General (Dr) Vijay Kumar Singh (Retd) ♦ Headquarters: New Delhi About United Nations: ♦ Secretary General: António Guterres ♦ UN General Assembly President: María Fernanda Espinosa ♦ Headquarters: New York, United States ♦ Founded: 24 October 1945 DD Science and India Science: 2 National Level initiatives launched by DST and Prasar Bharti in field of Science Communication On January 15, 2019, Union Science & Technology Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan inaugurated 2 national level initiatives in the field of Science and Communications.These initiatives are the first step in creating a national science channel for the country.Key Points: i.The initiatives were:DD Science and India Science. ii.These were launched by: The Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Doordarshan(DD), Prasar Bharati. iii.These were made official by singing of MOUs between: Vigyan Prasar and Doordarshan. iv.These are aimed to integrate and elevate science in everyday life and to make India reach in top 3 of countries propagating science and technology by 2030. v.The channels have been conceived and supported by the DST and are being implemented and managed by Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous organisation of DST. vi.India Science (www.indiascience.in) is already a 24×7 presence and DD Science may also be scaled up to a full-fledged channel in the future. vii.As per content, people will have free access to science-based documentaries, studio-based discussions, and virtual walkthroughs of scientific institutions, interviews and short films. About DD Science: i.It will be a one-hour slot on Doordarshan National channel which will telecast Monday to Saturday from 5 pm to 6pm. About India Science: i.It is an internet-based channel, which will be available on any internet-enabled device, and will offer live, scheduled play and video-on-demand services. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting: ♦ Minister of State: Shri. Rajyavardhan Rathore. Department of Science and Technology: ♦ Under Ministry of Science and Techonology. ♦ Union Minister: Dr. Harsh Vardhan. BANKING & FINANCE Sovereign gold bonds on sale at Rs 3,214 a gram during Jan 14-18,2019 On 12th January 2019, ministry of finance announced that a new series of sovereign gold bonds will be available at Rs 3,214 per gram from 14th January to 18thJanuary 2019. Key Points i. A discount of Rs 50 per gram will be given to the Investors who apply online for the Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme 2018-19 – Series V. iii. Interest rate of 2.50 percent per annum will be offered to the investors which is payable semi- annually. The interest earned is taxable. ii. The issue price of gold bond will be Rs 3,164 per gram of gold with the settlement date of January 22, 2019. About Sovereign gold bond scheme i. Launched in 2015 by the government to reduce the demand for physical gold by shifting a part of the physical bars and coins purchased every year for investment into gold bonds. ii. Sovereign gold bonds are issued by the RBI on behalf of the government.