1) Prime Minister releases National Disaster Management Plan.
- Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi released the National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP). This is the first ever national plan prepared in the country.
- It aims to make India disaster resilient and significantly reduce the loss of lives and assets. The plan is based on the four priority themes of the ``Sendai Framework``.
Namely: Understanding disaster risk, improving disaster risk governance, investing in disaster risk reduction (through structural and non-structural measures) and disaster preparedness, early warning and building back better in the aftermath of a disaster.
Salient Features of the Plan.
The plan covers all phases of disaster management:
- Prevention, mitigation, response and recovery. It provides for horizontal and vertical integration among all the agencies and departments of the Government.
- It also identifies major activities such as early warning, information dissemination, medical care, fuel, transportation, search and rescue, evacuation, etc. to serve as a checklist for agencies responding to a disaster.
- To prepare communities to cope with disasters, it emphasizes on a greater need for Information, Education and Communication activities.
2) Four month window to disclose black money opens.
- The four-month disclosure window giving an opportunity to domestic black money holders to come clean by paying tax and penalty of 45 per cent on such assets will open tomorrow.
- People who have made money through corrupt means will not be allowed to take advantage of the disclosure window.
- Under the Income Declaration Scheme, persons making disclosure of unaccounted assets will be given time up to November 30 to pay taxes, penalty and surcharge totaling 45 per cent at the fair market value.
- The declaration made under the scheme will not be used against the declarents under the Income-Tax Act or Wealth Tax (now abolished). There will also be immunity from Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act.
- People with undisclosed assets should use the limited period income declaration window, begins.
3) Government raises retirement age of doctors to 65.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the retirement age of 65 years for doctors of central services, in an aim to strengthen the healthcare sector in the country.
- The move will enable the government to retain experienced doctors for a longer period, and to provide better services in its public health facilities, particularly to the poor, who are entirely dependent on public facilities.
- This will strengthen the efforts of the Ministry in conceptualizing and rolling out various people-oriented schemes which will need the services of doctors in implementing them.
- The decision would benefit 312 doctors, including 57 medical officials, 159 senior medical officials and other senior health officials such as health department directors and Director General Health Services.
4) Cabinet approves setting up of India Post Payments Bank.
- The Union Cabinet under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved for setting up the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) as a Public Limited Company under the Department of Posts, with 100% Government of India (GOI) equity.
- The total expenditure involved in this project is Rs. 800 Crore. All citizens, especially 40% of the country`s population that is outside the ambit of formal banking in the country will benefit from this project.
- The IPPB will obtain banking license from RBI by March 2017 and by September 2017, its services will be available across the country through 650 payments bank branches, linked post offices and alternative channels riding on modern technology including mobiles, ATMs, PoS/ m-PoS devices etc and simple digital payments.
- The proposal will further the cause of financial inclusion by providing basic banking, payments and remittance services and facilitate financial services like insurance, mutual funds, pensions and access to credit in tie-up with third party financial providers with special focus on rural areas and the unbanked and under-banked segments.
- It will generate new employment opportunities for skilled banking professionals and will generate opportunities for propagating financial literacy across the country.
5) Cabinet approves MoU between India and other countries.
Qatar:
(1) For cooperation in Skill Development and Recognition of qualifications.
(2) For strengthening cooperation in the field of Tourism.
(3) Ratification of Agreement on Co-operation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters.
USA:
(1) To enhance cooperation in wildlife conservation.
Brunei Darussalam:
(1) In the field of Youth and Sports Affairs.
French:
(1) Directorate General of Civil Aviation of India (DGCA) and the French Civil Aviation Authority.
6) Cabinet approves the Proposal for Extension of Corridor-1 of Chennai Metro Rail Project Phase-I.
- The Union Cabinet under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto approval to the proposal for Chennai Metro Rail Phase-I Project from Washermanpet to Wimconagar. It covers a length of 9.051 km. at a total cost of Rs. 3770 crore.
- The project will be executed by the existing SPV of Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu having 50:50 equity of each i.e. Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. The project is scheduled to be completed by 2018.
- This extension will provide improved access to public transport for dense population comprising predominantly industrial workers to move towards the central business district of the city for work.
- The estimated ridership will be 1.6 lakh passengers per day in first year of operation.
7) Cabinet approves Mau-Tarighat New Railway line project.
- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for a new broad gauge line between Mau Station of North Eastern Railway and Tarighat Terminal station of East Central Railway. The total length of this new broad gauge line will be 51 kilometers.
- The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 1765.92 crore and expected completion cost is Rs. 2109.07 crore with 5 percent escalation per annum. The project is likely to be completed in the next six years during 12th and 13th Plan period.
- This project will provide alternative, shorter convenient and better transport infrastructure to the area separated by river Ganga so as to remove the transport difficulties in the area and to boost the socio economic development.
8) Cabinet approves Additional allocations for the BPL and APL families in non NFSA State.
- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for additional monthly allocation of 41,800 tonnes of food grains for the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families at BPL rates and 20,507 tonnes of food grains for Above Poverty Line (APL) families at 2/3rd of Minimum Support Price (MSP) rates to three non-National Food Security Act (NFSA) States, namely, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Nagaland, from April to June, 2016 or till implementation of NFSA by the respective State, whichever is earlier.
9) Cabinet approves Procurement Quota to M/s. ITI Ltd. in procurements made by BSNL, MTNL and BBNL.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal of Department of Telecommunications regarding continuation of reservation quota for M/s. ITI Limited in procurements made by BSNL, MTNL and Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL).
The approval consists of the following:
- To continue the Reservation Quota policy for M/s. ITI Ltd. by reserving.
- ITI would accept orders under reservation quota only after the price is known and if the same is commercially viable.
- ITI shall exercise its option under Reservation Quota within 15 days of bid opening.
- The aforesaid policy measures shall remain in force for a period of two years with effect from the date of approval of CCEA and shall again be reviewed considering the financial health of ITI after the expiry of this period.
10) Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for Kharif Crops of 2016-17 season.
- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for the increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for all Kharif Crops of 2016-17 Seasons. Further, to incentivize cultivation of pulses and oilseeds, in the country Government has announced a bonus on these crops, payable over and above the approved MSP.
- The decision to increase MSPs is based on the recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) which takes into account the cost of production, overall demand-supply, domestic and international prices, inter-crop price parity, terms of trade between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, the likely effect of the Price Policy on the rest of economy, besides ensuring rational utilization of production resources like land and water, while recommending MSPs.
11) Delhi Government Launches `DVAT M SEWA` Mobile App.
- CM Arvind Kejriwal launched a mobile app through which city traders can register with the VAT department of the Delhi government, a move that is aimed at boosting tax collection.
- The `DVAT M SEWA` app, traders won`t be required to submit application for registration at the department`s office and just fill the form online. There is also no need for VAT inspector`s visit at their premises. There are 41,000 pending requests awaiting registration with the VAT department.
12) Purbashree Emporium at Handloom Haat, Janpath inaugurated.
- The Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Smt. Rashmi Verma inaugurated the Purbashree Emporium.
- In order to give a boost to the development and promotion of North-East handicrafts and handlooms products, North Eastern Handicrafts and Handlooms Development Corporation Ltd (NEHHDC) has set up its ‘Purbashree Emporium’ in the Handloom Haat, New Delhi showcasing a wide variety of ethnic and exquisite handlooms products which are eco-friendly and bio-degradable.
- The NEHHDC markets the handicrafts and handlooms of the North Eastern Region through its chain of emporia located at Shillong, Guwahati, and New Delhi and also through its Regional Sales Promotion Offices located in Bengaluru and Chennai. Besides, NEHHDC conducts 50-80 exhibitions and marketing events per year across the country and abroad for showcasing the exquisite handicrafts and handlooms items of the North Eastern Region.
13) TRAI launches mobile app for subscribers to register complaints against pesky calls, SMSs.
- TRAI launched a mobile application for telecom subscribers to register their complaints against pesky calls and SMSs in an easy way.
- Stringent rule in place for checking promotional calls and SMS but companies are finding ways to bypass them. There has been issue in its enforcement. The new mobile app will help people in easily filing complaints and help us in monitoring such activities.
- The mobile app will show SMS in a list form and mobile numbers from the source. Customers need to click on the check box to select such SMSs or calls and then click on report option to file complaint.
- The name and address of that telephone subscriber shall then be shared with all other service providers and no service will be provided by any telecom resource in that name and address for a period of two years.
- The regulations have provisions to impose fines of up to Rs. 2.5 lakh on registered telemarketers if they are found flouting norms.
14) India to grant tourist, e-visa for Yoga courses.
- In a first, India will give tourist visa and e-tourist visa to foreigners willing to undergo short term course on Yoga in its bid to popularize the ancient spiritual and ascetic practice globally.
- Besides, the government has decided to include attending a short term yoga programme and short duration medical treatment under Indian systems of medicine in the list of permissible activities under e-tourist visa.
- All Indian Mission abroad and Foreigners Regional Registration Officers (FRROs)/ Foreigners Registration Officers (FROs) in the country have been requested to take action as per the latest decision.
- Under the e-tourist visa scheme, an applicant receives an email authorizing him or her to travel to India after it is approved and he or she can travel with a print-out of this authorization.
- Till now, the scheme has been extended to 150 countries at 16 Indian airports designated for providing e-tourist visa service.
15) 100 iconic places to be cleaned up under Swachh Bharat Mission.
Under the Swachh Bharat Mission, it has been decided to undertake a special clean-up initiative focused on 100 iconic heritages, spiritual and cultural places in the country.
The aim of this initiative is to make these 100 places model `Swachh Tourist Destinations`, that will enhance the experience for visitors from India and abroad. Under Phase 1 of this initiative, the following iconic places have been selected for an intensive clean up:
Vaishno Devi: Jammu and Kashmir
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus: Maharashtra
Taj Mahal: Uttar Pradesh
Tirupati Temple: Andhra Pradesh
Golden Temple: Punjab
Manikarnika Ghat: Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
Ajmer Sharif Dargah: Rajasthan
Meenakshi Temple: Tamil Nadu
Kamakhya Temple: Assam
Jagannath Puri: Odisha
The Secretaries of the Central Ministries expressed full support to the States in terms of technical assistance and also requested the States to converge resources for the clean-up under ongoing Central programmes, such as the Swachh Bharat Mission and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).
16) India and USA can transform the world with trade and trust: Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh.
- India and USA are natural allies and could transform the world with trade and trust and inaugural session of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce’s (IACC) National Conclave-2016 in Hyderabad.
- Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and the US President Mr. Barack Obama have added a new and successful chapter in Indo-US bilateral relations.
- India is now the fastest growing economy in the world. At present, all indicators are in the right direction and the country is the most attractive destination for investments. The government is laying emphasis to achieve double digit growth, by following proactive, holistic and integrated approach.
- Indian pharmacy companies are capable of producing affordable generic medicines and the USA needs to permit import of generic medicines to bring down the healthcare costs.
17) A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Signed Between Ministry of Railways and Govt. of Haryana for setting up of JV Company.
- Union Minister of Railways, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu and Chief Minister of Haryana Shri Manohar Lal Khattar a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for ``Formation of Joint Venture Company for Development of Railway Infrastructure in the State`` was signed.
- In view of the growing demands for railway lines in various states and huge requirement of funds to execute them, Hon’ble Minister for Railways announced in his budget speech regarding setting up of Joint Ventures with states for focused project development, resource mobilization, land acquisition, project implementation and monitoring of critical rail projects.
- 17 State Governments consented for formation of Joint Venture Companies in collaboration with the Ministry of Railways for development of rail infrastructure in their respective States. Draft MoUs were sent to these State Governments and discussions were also held with them to clarify various provisions of the MoU.
- The ministry of Railways will sign a concession agreement of 30 years with the project SPV for safe and sound operation, revenue sharing and providing technical & marketing logistics to the SPV. The revenue sharing shall be based on already established formula being used for inter zonal apportionment of revenue.
18) Odisha becomes first state to give social welfare benefits to transgender community.
- Odisha is first in the country to give transgender people social welfare benefits - such as a pension, housing and food grains.
- This move seeks to give the transgender community in the state same benefits as those living below the poverty line (BPL) in order to improve their overall social and economic status.
- They would also be entitled 5 kg of food grains every month under National Food Security Act.
19) Khattar inaugurates `Jai Jawan Awas Yojna` to provide affordable housing to serving, retired JCOs.
- Foundation stone of Jai Jawan Awas Yojna (JJAY), an initiative to provide affordable housing to serving and retired JCOs and Other Ranks, was laid by Shri Manohar Lal Khattar, the Honorable Chief Minister of Haryana, at Bahadurgarh, Haryana.
- The project is being executed by Army Welfare Housing Organization and aims to provide low cost housing. This housing project has been named in the memory of Late Major Rajiv Joon, recipient of Ashok Chakra and Shaurya Chakra.
- Chief Minister had granted dispensation in construction which permitted construction of about 500 dwelling units instead of 400 planned earlier.
20) Government announces national competition for students.
- Union Minister Smriti Irani announced that a national-level competition to promote research and innovation among students will start August and students will contribute their ideas directly to the central government.
- Irani, who was in New Delhi, was addressing dignitaries, professors and students through a web-conferencing facility during the nationwide digital launch of 10 infrastructure projects under the Ministry of Human Resource and Development’s Rastriya Uchchatar Scheme (RUSA), which includes SPPU’s project of Digital Classroom and E-content learning modules.
- Students can contribute to government plans of Make in India and Smart Cities, the research proposals of students will be welcomed through the new scheme. And students to suggest a name, logo and slogan of the competition.
21) Suresh Prabhu launches Tiger Express train on the World Environment Day.
- Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu flagged off the inaugural run of the Tiger Trail Circuit Train from Delhi Safdarjung Station.
- The launch of this Tiger Express on World Environment Day is to highlight the significance of environment in our lives. The Railway Minister took personal interest in conceptualizing this train. This tourist train will be operated by Indian Railway PSU namely Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).
- The ‘Tiger Express’ is one of the most innovative tourism products ever launched by Indian Railways.
- The Indian Tiger has always allured tourists from both India and abroad. The semi-luxury train will take the guests onboard to the world famous Bandhavgarh and Kanha National Parks in Madhya Pradesh.
22) Bihar CM Nitish Kumar launches Right to Public Grievance Redressal Act.
- CM Nitish Kumar launched Bihar Right to Public Grievance Redressal Act, 2015 on the occasion of JP`s `Sampoorna Kranti Diwas`.
- The new legislation will not only empower people to seek time-bound redressal of their grievances by government officials, but also strengthen people`s trust in democracy.
- The State Public Grievances Receipts Centre for Patna at Suchna Bhavan and public grievances redressal offices and grievance receipts centers in all the 38 districts and 101 sub divisional headquarters across the state, through remote. And also released a compilation of rules and circulars related to the new legislation.
- Now, no one can ignore you. They (government officers/staff) will have to listen to you and redress your grievances within a specific time. If the grievance cannot be redressed, the complainant will get a letter citing reasons for so. The complainant can file an appeal if she/he is not satisfied with the answer.
23) Army partners Tata Motors for skill development.
- The Indian Army, under its welfare and development initiative, Operation Sadbhavna has tied up with Tata Motors for training of Kashmir youth as Automobile Service Technicians.
- The first thirteen-week certified training course has been scheduled at the TATA Motors facility at Ropar, Punjab. 29 younsters from Kashmir have been selected for this course.
- The motive of this collaboration with the army was to create quality standards in skill development industry and assist in increasing employment opportunities for the youth of Kashmir.
- Operation Sadbhavana was launched by the Indian Army almost two decades ago. The objective was to ameliorate the suffering of the people devastated by the shadow of the gun and also assist the civil administration in rebuilding of the socio-economic infrastructure that terrorism had destroyed.
24) Himachal Pradesh becomes first state to have State Data Centre.
- Himachal Pradesh became the first state in the country to have a State Data Centre (SDC), designed using green data centre concept, to offer 101 people-oriented Service online through an integrated data base.
- Launching the Rs 58-crore SDC, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh integrated the websites of various departments and all services could be accessible through the integrated data base, saving time and money spent on creation of infrastructure.
- It is a major green initiative as all services would be provided online and paperless governance will become a reality.
- The Chief Minister directed all government departments to make use of SDC for hosting e-Governance applications instead of creating their own infrastructure.
25) Dr. Jitendra Singh lays foundation stone of Northeast girls` hostel in Bangalore.
- Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Dr. Jitendra Singh laid the Foundation Stone of a Hostel exclusively for Northeast girl students in Bangalore.
- The hostel, which is the first of its kind in Bangalore University, will have a capacity to accommodate 269 students and will be constructed at a cost of around Rs. 14 crore.
- Dr. Jitendra Singh disclosed that the next hostel project will shortly be started in the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi; Since JNU has a larger number of students from the eight North Eastern States compared to several other States of India, it was found appropriate to raise the facility there.
26) Gujarat government announces IT policy to promote new ventures.
- The Gujarat government announced its first ever `IT and Electronics Start-up Policy`, having special focus on encouraging new ventures by providing them various incentives and subsidies.
- Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel announced the policy, which will be applicable only to IT and electronics related start-ups.
- Under the policy, the state government would develop 50 incubators to mentor and guide 2,000 start-ups in the next five years.
- Our aim is to attract an investment of Rs. 7,000 crore through this policy for start-ups. The Gujarat government will allot around 10 lakh sq feet of land for development of 50 incubators, which will provide guidance to budding innovators in setting up their start-up units.
27) Government to set up 6 bulk drug, medical device parks.
- The government has decided to establish 3 bulk drugs and 3 medical devices parks across the country. These parks will require an investment of about Rs. 60,000 crore.
- As per various estimates, once these parks become operational, they can bring down the cost of production of devices and bulk drugs by at least 30 per cent and in long-run, this will help the general public also.
- These parks will be established on the public private partnership (PPP) mode and the centre is in talks with various states for setting up of these parks.
- These bulk drug and medical devices parks will have common facilities like testing, power and effluent treatment plants.
28) 32 DTH channels to live-telecast IIT lectures.
- The HRD Ministry is set to launch 32 Direct-to-Home channels which would enable students to watch live telecast of lectures from six IITs, along with other top institutions.
- The Department of Space has agreed to allot two transponders on a GSAT series satellite for this ambitious project, while MoUs have been signed with many institutions which will provide lessons and content that will be beamed on these channels.
- The government is focusing on using space technology to expand the reach of high quality education. Through the 32 DTH channels the aim is to ensure that live classrooms can be transmitted from ten ‘Teaching Ends’ out of which six will be IITs located in Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Kharagpur, Kanpur and Guwahati.
29) Cambridge, MIT experts to design Indian syllabi.
- The HRD ministry has roped in experts from leading global Universities like Cambridge, MIT and Pennsylvania to help design and ``internationalize`` syllabi of higher education institutions in the country.
- 10 projects in different states under Rashtriya Ucchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), experts from institutions like University of Edinburgh, MIT, Cambridge, University of Pennsylvania, UC Berkeley, University of Washington and University of Georgia Tech etc have been roped in to upgrade the curriculum in social sciences, sciences, mathematics and engineering.
- The government of India has been in touch with some international faculty and academicians and institutions who shall through RUSA, a national higher education mission, help states internationalize their curriculum in order to benefit their students.
30) Swachh Yug campaign to make gram panchayats along Ganga open defecation free.
- The campaign, being a collaborative effort between the Swachh Bharat Mission, local youth leaders and the Namami Gange project - is being called `Swachh`, which translates into `the age of Swachh`.
- These organizations will be called upon to provide a large number of local youth volunteers to support a behavior change campaign in the 52 districts under the Swachh Bharat Mission.
- To take this initiative forward, a nodal officer has been identified for each district to work on making their district Open Defecation Free (ODF) in mission mode, as well as to focus on ‘Swachhta’ at the village through proper Solid and Liquid Waste Management and maintaining general cleanliness.
31) Shri Piyush Goyal Launches ``SURYAMITRA`` Mobile App.
- Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy launched ``Surya Mitra`` mobile App at National Workshop on Rooftop Solar Power. The GPS based mobile app is developed by National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) which is an autonomous institution of Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE).
- This innovative mobile approach shall enhance the employment of trained youth in solar PV technology and also improve the businesses of solar entrepreneurs because of quality servicing, maintenance and repairing professionals are now available to customers at the click of a button on their mobiles.
- Under NABARD scheme of off grid Solar PV system few lakhs of off-grid systems have been installed and systems do require regular maintenance. MNRE has an ambitious target of installing 100,000 solar PV pumps in several states.
32) Shri Nitin Gadkari launches the TCI –IIM report on the Operational Efficiency of Freight Transportation by Road in India.
- The Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Shri Nitin Gadkari launched the TCI –IIM Calcutta joint study report on the operational efficiency of freight transportation by road in India in New Delhi. The report is based on a study commissioned by the Transport Corporation of India (TCI).
- Ministry has taken many steps to facilitate safe, seamless and efficient transportation of people and goods by road. On the safety front engineering solutions are mandatorily being incorporated into road designs to make them safer, accident black spots are being rectified, safety standards are being set for automobiles, issue of driving licenses is being computerized and training centers are being set up for drivers.
- To cut down delays due to stoppage, Electronic Toll Collection is being brought in soon. 380 Toll Plazas have been equipped for this.
33) The first ever All India Women Journalists’ Workshop.
- The workshop was inaugurated by the Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi.
- In the country people aware of the power and reach of the media and its ability act as agent of change. There is a need to empower the journalists with correct and timely information since journalists are a big social multiplier and can become agents of social change. The journalists to act as two-way communication channels i.e. bring the voice from the grassroots to the government and vice versa.
- Issue of safety of women in a holistic manner, i.e. from saving the girls from gender biased sex selection to constructing shelter homes for widows. Similarly, the Ministry has been looking at care and protection of children in a comprehensive manner. In both cases a large number of interventions have been taken by the Ministry.
- An exhibition was also organized outside the venue showcasing the live monitoring system of Childline- Child Helpline 1098, and district level initiatives of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao.
34) Delhi Government approves solar policy with 1 GW target by 2020.
- The Delhi government announced implementation of its solar policy with the aim of making the national capital a solar city with installation of 1 GW solar power capacity by 2020.
- This target is proposed to double it to 2 GW during further next five years (by 2025). Outlines a combination of regulations, mandates, incentives, and tax breaks for the growth of rooftop solar power in the capital.
- The policy promotes net-metering for all solar plants above 1 kW based on the net-metering regulations already issued by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission.
- It also mandates the deployment of solar plants on all government-owned rooftops in the next five years. It requires Discoms to meet at least 75 per cent of their solar renewable purchase obligation (RPO) within Delhi.
- Rooftop solar systems offer sustainable energy, environmental benefits, low gestation period and minimum transmission and distribution losses.
35) Rajasthan Government launches Mobile App RajVayu on Air Quality Index.
- Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje launched a mobile application, `RajVayu`, for general public to check the air quality in three cities in the state - Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur. Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) claims to be the first board in the country to devise an app for delivering real time updates on air quality.
- This app will help residents of the three cities plan their day according to the air quality of different areas in the city. Individuals suffering from breathing problems can check the air quality of the zone/ area they are visiting on the app. It will help them in avoiding those areas which have alarming levels of dust and smoke dangerous for their health.
- To ensure participation of common man, particularly youth, in pollution control and environment conservation, such apps should be made more interactive and interesting by installing gaming features.
36) Jharkhand govt to launch medical cover for poor.
- Jharkhand government will roll out medical insurances for critical diseases. Starting medical insurances up to Rs. 2.5 lakh for gambhir bimaari (critical diseases). Besides critical diseases, medical insurances for non-critical illnesses of up to Rs. 50,000 will also be started.
- Primarily aimed at people living below poverty line and for those with annual household incomes less than Rs. 72,000, the insurances will bring people from all economic backgrounds under its fold.
-