1) International conference on voter education Held in New Delhi
The Election Commission of India hold the first ever International Conference on Voter Education in New Delhi. The topic of the Conference is Voter Education for Inclusive, Informed and Ethical Participation.
i. The Conference was organized with an aim to share best practices, policies and initiatives of voter education by election management bodies. 27 countries and 5 international organizations are participating in the three day event which begin from October 19, 2016.
ii. The Conference also aims at achieving a resolution to strengthen inclusive, informed and ethical electoral participation among member countries with the help of voter education and outreach.
iii. This conference represents nearly 40% of the world’s population under a single roof, bears the testimony to the importance of the conference on the world stage.
iv. Giving the motto of “No Voter to be Left Behind”, the focus of the two-day conference will be on people. Deliberations would be held in great detail so as to adopt best practices across the world to ensure Voter Education and maximum Electoral Participation of the People
2) Civil Aviation Ministry’s Regional Connectivity Scheme “UDAN” Launched
i. The Ministry of Civil Aviation took a major step today towards making flying a reality for the small town common man. The Civil Aviation Minister Shri P Ashok Gajapathi Raju launched the Ministry’s much awaited Regional Connectivity Scheme “ UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik)” in New Delhi.
ii. This first-of-its-kind scheme globally will create affordable yet economically viable and profitable flights on regional routes so that flying becomes affordable to the common man even in small towns.
iii. The first flight under the scheme would be able to take off by January next year and the scheme had been prepared after a lot of stakeholder consultation and called for support from all players to make it a success.
iv. The scheme UDAN envisages providing connectivity to un-served and under-served airports of the country through revival of existing air-strips and airports. The scheme would be in operation for a period of 10 years.
3) Krishna water tribunal refuses to relook into allocation
i. In a major set back to Telangana and Andhra Pradesh States, the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal on sharing of Krishna waters (Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II) has made it clear that it would not take a relook into allocation of water among the riparian States but would take up distribution of water allocation to combined AP to Telangana and residuary AP States.
ii. The tribunal headed by Justice BrijeshKumar explained that it would take up the issue of distribution of water allocated to erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh between the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
iii. The tribunal passed the judgement after the two states approached it arguing that Section 89 of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 meant that the Krishna water would be redistributed among the four basin states. Maharashtra and Karnataka are the other two riparian states.
iv. The scope of the inquiry into the terms of reference under Section 89 of the Act no 6 of 2014 is confined to only two successor states, namely, states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and not all the four states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
4) Indian Railways organizes Conference on Heritage Rail Tourism jointly with Asia Pacific Heritage & Rail Tourism Organisation
i. Heritage Rail Tourism Conference was organized by Indian Railways at National Rail Museum, New Delhi jointly with Asia Pacific Heritage&Rail Tourism Organization (APHRTO).
ii. Participants from many countries including Japan, UK, Germany, Australia, Taiwan, senior officers of Indian Railways and other stakeholders of Heritage Rail Tourism were present in the Conference.Indian Railways organizes Conference on Heritage Rail Tourism jointly with Asia Pacific Heritage & Rail Tourism Organisation
iii. The participants also visited Heritage Transport Museum, Gurgaon, being managed by Heritage Transportation Trust, New Delhi. discuss ideas on developing Rail Heritage Tourism in India.
iv. The Annual General Meetings of APHTRO and WATTRAIN (World Association of Tourist Trams and Trains) had been held as a side event. It was envisaged that this APHTRO Conference will bring ideas and visions for strategizing Rail Heritage Tourism in India.
5) Indo Italy Scientific and Technological Cooperation Re-Launched
i. The Indo-Italian Joint Committee established under the Scientific and Technological Cooperation Agreement re-launch cooperation in the sectors of science, technology and innovation. The original agreement was signed between Italy and India in 2003.
ii. The Indian delegation led by Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Science and Technology, Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, while the Italian delegation was led by Vincenzo De Luca, Director General for Cultural and Economic Promotion and Innovation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
iii. Rome hosted a meeting of the Joint Committee which approved several initiatives in bilateral scientific R&D projects of significance with the aim of facilitating the mobility of researchers who would be jointly selected and co-financed within the framework of the 2017-2019 Indo-Italy Executive Programme of Scientific and Technological Cooperation.
iv. The Committee expressed appreciation for the launch of the next phase of cooperation established between Italian and Indian researchers in the India-Trento Programme for Advanced Research (ITPAR).
v. Secretary, DST will also inaugurate two Indian experimental beamlines at the Synchrotron facility in Trieste for the ELETTRA ‘XRD2’ and ‘XPRESS’ accelerators which is funded by DST at a cost of 6 million Euros.
6) L&T Inks Pact With Maha Govt For Nagpur Smart City Project
Infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has signed MoU with the Maharashtra government for Nagpur smart city project .
Smart City Project :
i. To laying of 1,200 km of optical fibre network backbone
ii. To create 136 city wifi hotspots at key locations, establishing 100 digital interactive kiosks and developing city surveillance systems with 3800 IP-based cameras.
iii. The city also has identified a strip of approximately 6 km from Japanese Garden Square to Orange City Hospital Square to be developed as a ‘Smart Strip‘ with smart ICT interventions & IOT (Internet of Things) solutions like smart lighting, smart transport, smart parking, smart bins, etc.
Maharashtra :
- Aga Khan Palace is a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi is located in Maharashtra
- Ajanta Caves, Ellora Caves and Elephanta Caves are located in this state
7) Irom Sharmila announces formation of political party named Peoples Resurgence and Justice Alliance.
i. Activist Irom Sharmila formed a new political party named People’s Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA) ahead of the Assembly polls in Manipur in 2017.
ii. She would contest from two constituencies Thoubal and Khurai.
iii. She will be the co-convenor of the party, which includes a number of activists and entrepreneurs. Academician Erendro Leichombam is the convenor of the party.
iv. She broke her 16-year-long fast demanding withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special World`s longest hunger strike by Irom Shramila comes to an end!Powers Act on August 9.
Manipur :
- Manipur is also known as Kangleipak or Sanaleibak
- Movie theatres were first introduced in Manipur in 1920.
Capital : Imphal
8) Supreme Court freezes BCCIs financial powers, appoints independent auditor
i. Supreme Court has appointed an independent auditor to monitor the financial transactions of BCCI and set a threshold beyond which the board will have to take permission from the Lodha Panel.
ii. The auditor and Lodha panel to work together oversee the contracts entered into by the BCCI.
iii. This may impact the Indian Premier League and other major advertising agreements.
iv. The apex court also directed the BCCI to file an affidavit within two weeks on how will the Lodha recommendations be completed.
BCCI:
- The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was formed in December 1928 as a society, registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act.
President: Anurag Thakur
Secretary: Ajay Shirke
Headquarters: Mumbai
Sponsor: Star India (formerly STAR TV India)