7) Maharashtra Government approves APJ Abdul Kalam Amrut Yojna.
- Maharashtra Government has approved APJ Abdul Kalam Amrut Yojna scheme to provide one full hot cooked nutritious food to pregnant, lactating women in the tribal areas.
- It was approved by the state Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai.
About APJ Abdul Kalam Amrut Yojna
Objective:
- To curb malnutrition among tribal children by providing nutrition to pregnant women for 6 months when the child’s growth is at its peak.
- The scheme is an initiative of Tribal Development department of state government.
Scheme Plan:
- To provide one full hot cooked nutritious food to every pregnant (in third trimester) and lactating mother (first three months post-delivery) in tribal areas.
8) Impose AFSPA in Garo Hills: Meghalaya High
- Meghalaya High Court has asked Central Government to enforce Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958 in militancy-hit Garo Hills region of the state.
- The order was issued by a full 3 bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Uma Nath Singh, Justice T N K Singh and Justice S R Sen while hearing on pending cases of militants calling bandhs in the state.
The Court observed that:
- Central government can enforce AFSPA in Garo Hills region in order to deploy armed forces to aid of civil administration to restore public order and maintain the law and order.
- The imposition of AFSPA would be only for the purpose of enabling the civil authorities in the state to effectively deal with militancy so that there is a regime of rule of law.
About Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958:
- Empowers armed forces to deal effectively in ‘Disturbed Areas’ declared by both state and Central government.
- Parliament had enacted it in 1958 to provide special legal security to the armed forces for carrying out operations in the troubled areas of 7 sisters states of North east.
- Rajasthan Government relaxed two-child policy for government employees.
9) The Rajasthan Government decided to relax its two-child policy which was applicable to the state government employees.
- As per the decision, the state government employees, already having two children from previous marriage, will now be allowed to have a third child in case of a remarriage. Besides, twins or triplets in such remarriages will be counted as one unit.
- The decision was taken at the cabinet meeting presided by state Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.
About state’s two-child policy:
- Rajasthan was the first state in the country to implement the two-child norm in 1992. After 1994, the government barred people with more than two children to contest panchayat and municipal elections.
- The policy was extended to government employees with a cut-off date of June 2002.
- In 2001, the Rajasthan Government had issued a notification that a candidate having more than two children is not eligible for government recruitment. The notification also mentioned that if an employee’s third child is born after 1 June 2002, he/she will not be given promotion for five years.
10) Indian Railways signed MoU with Odisha for implementation of railway projects.
- The Odisha Government and Indian Railways inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to form a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for implementation of railway projects in the state.
- The MoU aims at forming a Joint Venture Company to develop railway infrastructure in Odisha.
Key highlights of the MoU:
- It will work towards providing railway connectivity to Boudh, Kandhamal, Nayagarh, Nabrangpur, Kendrapada, Malkangiri and Deogarh districts.
- Maoist-affected districts will be in the high priority list.
- At least six-seven rail projects will be constructed in the state.
- A 40-km link connecting the Nabarangpur district headquarters to the nearest station at Jeypore in neighbouring Koraput district will also be built.
- The Odisha Government will have 51 percent stake in the project, while the Railways Ministry will have 49 percent stake.
11) Union Cabinet gives nod to UDAY Scheme for financial restructuring package for power DISCOMs.
- Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its nod Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojna (UDAY) for financial restructuring of debt of power distribution companies.
- The Scheme aims for financial turnaround and revival of Power Distribution companies (DISCOMs) and also ensures a sustainable permanent solution to the problem.
- About UDAY scheme Allows power DISCOMs in selected states to convert their debt into state bonds as well as roll out number of measures to improve efficiency at power plants.
- Seeks to ensure that struggling DISCOMs can shake off years of losses and start on a path to profitability.
Assures the rise of vibrant and efficient DISCOMs:
through four initiatives
(i) Improve operational efficiencies of DISCOMs
(ii) (ii) Reduce of cost of power.
(iii) (iii) Reduce interest cost of DISCOMs.
(iv) (iv) Enforce financial discipline on DISCOMs through alignment with State finances.
Debt Burden:
Shifts 75 per cent of power DISCOMs debt burden to states’ balance sheets. This step would result in interest cost savings to the tune of 3-5 per cent.
State Power Bonds or loans:
Selected states would be able to sell the balance 25 per cent as state-backed power bonds or loans which will carry interest rates of g-sec plus 50 basis points.
12) President Pranab Mukherjee launched research project Imprint India.
- Pranab MukherjeePresident Pranab Mukherjee launched Imprint India, a Pan-IIT and IISc joint initiative.
- The project encourages the Indian technical institutions to develop a blueprint for research to crack major engineering and technology challenges relevant to the nation.
Imprint India is a 1000 crore rupees project, which aspires to:
- Identify areas of immediate relevance to society requiring innovation.
- Direct scientific research into identified areas.
- Ensure higher funding support for research into these areas.
- Measure outcomes of the research effort with reference to impact on the standard of living in the rural/urban areas.