1) Indian Bridge Management System Launched.
- The Indian Bridge Management System (IBMS) has been launched by the Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari formally launched in New Delhi.
- IBMS is being developed to create an inventory of all bridges in the country and rate their structural condition so that timely repair and rehabilitation work can be carried out based on the criticality of the structure.
2) `Mission Raftaar` of Indian Railway Starts to Yield Results.
The Mission Raftaar project of the Indian Railways has now picked up and started yielding results. Under this project measures are being taken to raise average speed of both passenger carrying trains and freight carrying trains.
3) Cabinet approves Memorandum of Understanding with:
(i) African Asian Rural Development Organization in the field of rural development
- The MoU for the triennium 2015 - 2017 is being signed under which capacity building programmes for AARDO member countries will be organized every year during the triennium at various Institutions of Excellence in India such as National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (NIRD & PR), institutions governed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and others.
(ii) India and European Union on water cooperation
- The Union Cabinet under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for the signing of MoU between India and European Union in the field of water resources.
(iii) Transfer of two acres of Indian Agricultural Institute land to Veterinary Council of India
- The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the proposal for transfer two acres of land from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi to the Veterinary Council of India (VCI) on lease basis for a period of 99 years.
(iv) Amendments to the HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014
- The HIV and AIDS Bill, 2014 has been drafted to safeguard the rights of people living with HIV and affected by HIV. The provisions of the Bill seek to address HIV-related discrimination, strengthen the existing programme by bringing in legal accountability and establish formal mechanisms for inquiring into complaints and redressing grievances.
(v) CCEA gives nod to acquisition of 11% stake in Russian Oil Company
- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave nod to acquisition of 11 per cent stake in Russian oil company JSC Vankorneft, by ONGC Videsh Limited, OVL for 930 million dollars.
4) Aadhar card mandatory to receive LPG subsidy.
- All LPG consumers have to furnish their Aadhaar card details by November 30 to continue availing subsidies.
- Currently, the government gives 12 LPG cylinders at subsidized rates per household in a year. The subsidy of every LPG cylinder is transferred directly into bank accounts of individuals who then buy the cooking fuel at market rates.
- After LPG, the Centre intends to bring Public Distribution System, rural employment guarantee scheme, pensions, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and national scholarships in the Aadhaar net. The move is intended to reduce fraud and result in savings for the government.
5) The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has launched the Indian Bridge Management System (IBMS).
- The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has launched the Indian Bridge Management System (IBMS). It was launched by Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi as a major step towards ensuring safety of bridges in the country.
- Each bridge will be assigned a unique identification number or National Identity Number (NIN) based on the state, RTO zone or located on National Highway, State Highway.
6) India, Singapore sign three agreements.
- MoU in the field of Industrial Property Cooperation: It was signed between Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) and Intellectual Property Office (IPO), Singapore.
- MoU on collaboration in the field of Technical and Vocational Education and Training: It was signed between National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and ITEES Singapore.
- MoU on collaboration in the field of Technical and Vocational Education and Training: It was signed between Government of Assam and ITEES Singapore.
7) Cabinet accords permission to M/s. HLL Lifecare Ltd., to sub-lease 330.10 acres of Government land.
- The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to M/s. HLL Lifecare Ltd., a Mini Ratna PSU under Ministry of Health & Family Welfare to sub- lease 330.10 acres of land at. Chengalpattu, located in the outskirts of Chennai, to setup a medical devices manufacturing park (Medipark) through a special purpose Vehicle, released it in 2009.
- The shareholding of HLL in the project would be above 50%.
8) Inauguration of Naval Air Enclave.
- A Naval Air Enclave (NAE) was inaugurated at CIAL by Admiral Sunil Lanba PVSM, AVSM, ADC, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS).
- The setting up of a NAE will facilitate the operations of Boeing P8I aircraft from CIAL to enhance surveillance of area around the western coast and the strategically critical Lakshdweep and Minicoy Islands.
8) World Sustainable Development Summit inaugurated by president.
- The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the first edition of the World Sustainable Development Summit on the theme `Beyond 2015: People, Planet and Progress` organized by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in New Delhi.
- The aim is to follow a twin-tracked approach of limiting the rise of climate change while ensuring the existence of sufficient resources to meet future developmental requirements.
- Organized By The Energy And Resources Institute.
Theme - Beyond 2015: People, Planet, Progress.
9) 250 markets Connected to e-NAM Platform: Shri Radha Mohan Singh.
- Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Shri Radha Mohan Singh announced successfully completion of e-NAM first phase and launched e-NAM Mobile App in New Delhi.
- e-NAM platform is connected to 250 markets across 10 States as of now (Andhra Pradesh (12), Chhattisgarh (05), Gujarat (40), Haryana (36), Himachal Pradesh (07), Jharkhand (08), Madhya Pradesh (20), Rajasthan (11), Telangana (44), and Uttar Pradesh (67).
- Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for integrating 399 mandis with e-NAM has been received from 14 states and all of them have been approved.
10) All ASI Protected Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites Declared Polythene Free Zones.
- All ASI Protected Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites have been declared `Polythene Free Zones`. Advisory has been issued to all State Governments/UTs to support ASI in keeping Monuments Polythene Free up to 300 meters from the protected boundaries of the Monuments.
- 75 more Adarsh Monuments protected by ASI have been identified to be included in the `Swachh Paryatan Mobile App` launched by the Ministry of Tourism. With this a total of 100 Adarsh Monuments protected by ASI will be included in the `Swachh Paryatan Mobile App`.
- This App was launched in February 2016 and is monitored by the Project Monitoring Unit of Swachh Bharat Mission in Ministry of Tourism.
11) Three agreements between India and Switzerland.
- The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh met the visiting Minister for Justice and Police of Swiss Confederation, Ms. Simonetta Sommaruga and signed three agreements including Mutual Visa Exemption Agreement for Holders of Diplomatic Passports, Technical Arrangements on Identification and Return of Illegal Migrants and Arrangement for Dependent Person of Diplomatic, Consular, Technical and Administrative Staff of Diplomatic and Consular Mission to Perform Gainful Employment.
12) India to host first AMCDRR after Sendai Framework.
- The Government of India is hosting the Asian Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) next month in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) in New Delhi. The hosting of the Conference re-affirms India`s commitment to the cause of Disaster Risk Reduction.
- This is the first AMCDRR after the advent of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRRR), adopted at the third UN World Conference in Sendai, Japan in March, 2015. It will set the direction of Sendai Framework implementation in the region.
13) Varanasi to get Heritage Walk around Kabir Chaura; 86 sites to be developed under HRIDAY.
- Ministry of Urban Development has approved projects worth Rs. 114 crore under Heritage Infrastructure Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) for improving infrastructure facilities around core heritage sites in five cities of Varnasi, Amritsar, Dwaraka, Puri and Warangal.
- An inter-ministerial HRIDAY National Empowered Committee chaired by Shri Rajiv Gauba, Secretary (UD) cleared Detailed Project Reports of these five cities.
14) Heritage Infrastructure projects worth Rs. 350 crore approved, says Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu.
- Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, Minister of Urban Development inaugurated a two day conference on Heritage Cities. The conference is being jointly organised by Ministry of Urban Development and Indian Heritage Cities Network (IHCN).
- India is blessed with tangible and intangible heritage assets and it consists of 32 World Heritage Sites, both cultural and natural, recognized by UNESCO.
15) New Solar Powered Guard Van of Goods Train flagged off.
- Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu inspected and flagged off the newly manufactured Guard Van of Goods (Freight) Train at Delhi Safdarjung Railway Station.
- The newly manufactured Guard Van of Goods Train (8 wheeled) has been equipped for the first time with Solar powered Light, Fan, Mobile Charging Point along with the facility of Zero discharge Bio Toilet.
16) India, Sri Lanka to sign ETCA pact, says Lankan PM Ranil Wickremesinghe.
- Economic and Technology Co-operation Agreement (ETCA) with India to be signed by the end of this year, which will help strengthen economic ties.
- The ETCA is expected to helop the island country gain better access to India’s market.
17) Union Cabinet approves setting up of India`s first Medipark in Tamil Nadu.
- The Union Cabinet approved the sub-leasing of 330.10 acres of land at Chengalpattu by HLL Lifecare Ltd, a mini-ratna, for setting up a medical devices manufacturing park (Medipark).
- The Medipark project will be the first manufacturing cluster in the medical technology sector in the country, envisaged to boost local manufacturing of hi-end products at a significantly lower cost, resulting in affordable healthcare delivery, particular in diagnostic services to a large section of people.