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Indian Railways launches Yatri Mitra Sewa to help elderly, differently-abled
Indian Railways has launched ‘Yatri Mitra Sewa’ in a move to make rail travel comfortable for elderly, differently-abled and ailing travellers. The ‘Yatri Mitra Sewa’ will facilitate access to wheelchairs, battery operated cars and porter services elderly, differently-abled and ailing travellers. ‘Yatri Mitra’ or ‘Passenger Friend’ can be a “Sahayak (assistant)” or any other person nominated for the purpose. The service will be available at major railway stations across the country. The service can be availed at the time of online booking of tickets, calling or messaging ’139′, accessing an app to be developed by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), or by simply dialling a dedicated mobile phone number to be activated for the purpose.
Union Govt approves 500 crore rupee projects for tourism in Jammu and Kashmir
The Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) has approved projects to the tune of Rs. 500 Crore for integrated development of tourism in Jammu and Kashmir under Swadesh Darshan scheme. The projects were approved for the scheme as part of Development Package of Prime Minister Reconstruction Plan. The new projects are envisaged at tourist infrastructural development in Jammu and Kashmir. The projects also involve developing a Convention Centre in Gulmarg and Patnitop, development of Ethnic Villages, Development of Water Sports Centre at Baghliyar Dam – Pool Doda.
UIDAI bans sharing of Aadhaar details
Agencies in possession of Aadhaar number of an individual will not be allowed to publish or post the information publicly and will have to ensure security and confidentiality of the 12-digit identification number under the Aadhaar Act. The move comes as part of the UIDAI’s efforts to ensure the information is not misused.Under the recently notified regulations,these agencies have also been mandated to inform Aadhaar holders the purpose for which their details will be used. As per the rules,the biometric information cannot be shared with anyone for any reason.
India Declares itself Free from Avian Influenza (H5N1)
The Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers welfare has declared India free from Avian Influenza (H5N1) from 5th September, 2016. India had notified outbreak of Avian Influenza (H5N1) on 09 May 2016 at Humnabad, Bidar district, Karnataka. There has been no further outbreak reported in the country thereafter.
Agriculture museum inaugurated at IGKV
An agriculture museum has been inaugurated at Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya (IGKV) and it is touted as the first of its kind in any agriculture university in the country. It has been set up at a cost of Rs 4.92 crore. It aims to provide information about special agricultural techniques, agriculture-related problems and their solution, villagers’ lifestyles. It also displays the agriculture and tribal culture of Chhattisgarh. Modern techniques of farming are displayed in an interactive manner. A mobile application ‘Crop Doctor’, designed by the university for the farmers, has also launched at IGKV.
105-yr-old Kunwar Bai made ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ mascot
105-year-old Kunwar Bai, who was felicitated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for building toilet by selling off her goats, has been chosen as the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ mascot. Prime Minister Modi will felicitate Kunwar Bai at a function in the national capital to mark `Swachhta Diwas’ on September 17.
Indian Railways launches cleanliness drive Swachhta Saptah
Indian Railways has launched Swachhta Saptah (Cleanliness Week) to mark the ‘Swachh Paryavaran Diwas’ (Clean Environment Day). The special nine-day (from 17 to 25 September 2016) long public cleanliness outreach programme was launched by Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in New Delhi. The objective behind the initiative is to spread wider awareness on sanitation and cleanliness in rail premises and make hygiene a habit amongst the travelling public. It also marks out the Railway’s commitment by recounting the initiatives taken under the ‘Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat Mission’ Each day of the cleanliness drive will be earmarking specific focus area for spruce-up, the cleanliness programme has certain defined thrusts.
Union Cabinet approves Bilateral Technical Arrangement between India and Switzerland
The Union Cabinet has given its approval for signing of the Bilateral Technical Arrangement (BTA) between India and Switzerland on the identification and return of Indian and Swiss Nationals and its implementation. The conclusion of the BTA has been linked to the Visa Free Agreement for holders of Diplomatic passports as a package deal. The BTA aims to formalise existing procedure for cooperation on return of irregular migrants between two countries without introducing any additional obligations or exacting timeframes. It would help to leverage the Readmission Agreement (RA) to liberalise work permit and visa regimes for legitimate Indian travellers.
Union Cabinet approves MoU between India and South Africa
The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and South Africa for cooperation in the field of Tourism. Decision in this regard was taken by the Union Cabinet Meeting chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The MoU was signed in July 2016.
Cabinet approves establishment of Higher Education Financing Agency
The Union Cabinet has approved establishment of Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) to give a major push for creation of high quality infrastructure in premier educational institutions. The HEFA will be jointly promoted by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and identified Promoter. HEFA will have an authorised capital of2,000 crore rupees and the government equity would be 1,000 crore rupees. It will be formed as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) within a PSU Bank or the Government-owned-NBFC (Promoter).
Govt launches toll-free number for postal complaints
The government on 12 September has launched toll free number 1924 to register postal complaints, over a month after introducing Twitter Sewa for redressal of telecom and postal grievances. It will initially be operational for 12 hours on working days and has been started in Hindi, Malayalam, and English. Notably, Department of Posts (DoP) is the 8th largest department in terms of the number of complaints.
Union Govt issues fresh guidelines for flexi-fund for CSS
The Union Finance Ministry has issued fresh flexi-fund guidelines for the Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS). These flexi-fund guidelines will give states more freedom in spending money under the CSS to meet local developmental requirements. These guidelines were based on the instructions issued by NITI Aayog for rationalisation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes. These recommendations were based on instructions of the sub-group of Chief Ministers of states and consultations with stakeholders.
Indian Coast Guard commissions offshore patrolling vessel Sarathi
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has commissioned well-equipped offshore patrolling (OPV) vessel named ‘Sarathi’. It was commissioned by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar at Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) shipyard at Vasco in south Goa. ICGS Sarathi is the third in the series of six OPVs built by GSL for Indian Coast Guard (ICG). It is designed and built indigenously by GSL. It is the largest i.e. 105-meter long and is most advanced new generation off-shore patrol vessel. It has been fitted with advanced EW and electronic systems and guns. The vessel will be joining coast guard fleet based at Kochi, Kerala and will form part of the Naval Training Squadron.
Integration of DigiLocker with Driving Licenses & RC launched
The Union Government has launched a new service-integration of DigiLocker with Driving Licenses (DL) & Vehicle Registration Certificates (RC). It was jointly launched by Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari and Union Minister of Electronics & Information Technology and Law & Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad in New Delhi. With this integration people will no longer need to carry around physical copies of their Driving Licences and RCs. Using DigiLocker mobile app, they can instead access digital copies of the same on their mobile phones.
Helpline no. 14401 for info on power cuts launched
The Department of Telecom (DoT) has introduced a new helpline called ‘Urja Mitra’ for updates about electricity supply. Consumers in India can now dial 14401 and get an update from their respective power distribution companies about outages in their area through the ‘Urja Mitra Helpline’.
India Post releases commemorative postage stamp on Saint Teresa
The Postal Department has released a commemorative stamp to honour the Mother Teresa’s canonization in Mumbai. Union Minister of State (MoS) for Communications Manoj Sinha unveiled the postage stamp during a ceremony at the Divine Child High School. Teresa, who worked for the destitute in Kolkata and became a global icon of Christian charity, was declared a saint by Pope Francis at the Vatican. Mother Teresa MC, known in the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, was an Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and missionary.
Union Government approves use of chilli based PAVA shells as alternative to pellet guns
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approved the use of Pelargonic Acid Vanillyl Amide (PAVA) shells as an alternative to pellet guns for crowd controlling in Jammu and Kashmir. PAVA sheels also called Nonivamide are chilli-filled grenades. They are less lethal compared to pellet guns and immobilises the target temporarily rather than causing physical injury.
Election Commission grants National Party status to All India Trinamool Congress
The ElectionCommission has granted Nationalparty status to All India Trinamool Congress(TMC). The party led by West BengalChief Minister Mamata Banerjeehas ful-
filled the conditions required to become a Nationalparty after getting status of state party in four states. As per the provisions, to become a Nationalparty, a political outfit needs to win at least two percent of the total seats in the Lok Sabhafrom at least three different states or get at least six percent votes in four states in addition to four Lok Sabhaseats, or recognised as a state party in four states. The TMC is ruling the West Bengaland has presence in Manipur, Arunachal Pradeshand Tripura.
Indian Railways launches travel insurance for 92 paise
The railways has launched a scheme allowing a person to get an insurance cover of upto Rs. 10 lakh on booking a train ticket online by paying less than one rupee. A person booking a train ticket through the IRCTC website will be able to opt for travel insurance cover for a premium of 92 paise only. The railways will provide optional travel insurance for train journey at the time of booking. The new facility will be available to all passengers, excluding those travelling by suburban trains while booking online irrespective of the class. The cover will not be applicable for children upto 5 years of age and foreign citizens. It will be for passengers holding tickets such as confirmed, RAC and wait-listed ones.
Union Cabinet approves grant of Permanent Residency Status for Foreign Investors
The Union Cabinet has approved the scheme for granting of Permanent Residency Status (PRS) to foreign investors. However, this status will be subject to the relevant conditions in the FDI Policy notified by the Central Government from time to time.The scheme is expected to encourage foreign investment in India and facilitate Make in India Programme. Under the scheme, suitable provisions will be incorporated in the Visa Manual to provide for the grant of PRS to foreign investors.The PRS will be granted for a period of 10 years with multiple entry.
India to grow at 7.6% in FY’17 RBI
The RBI, in its Annual Report, has projected India’s growth rate at 7.6% in 2016-17, up from 7.2% last year. The Reserve Bank of India is India’s central banking institution, which controls the monetary policy of the Indian rupee.
Union Government launches POCSO e-box
The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) e-box, in New Delhi. It was launched by the Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi in New Delhi. POCSO e-box is an online complaint management system for easy and direct reporting of sexual offences against children and timely action against offenders under POCSO Act, 2012.
NCS signs MoUs to enhance quality & reach of employment services
National Career Service (NCS) signed a Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with strategic partners for enhancing quality and reach of employment services through the NCS network. These MoUs were signed with job portals companies Indeed, First Job, Freshersworld, Merajob and HT Shine etc. to enhance quality and reach of its employment generation services. Earlier, the NSC had partnered with leading organisations like Uber, Monster.com, Saral Rozgar, Quikrjobs, Indian Staffing Federation etc for the same purpose. NCS project is being implemented by the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment. It was launched in 2015.
Union Government launches Accessible E-Library Sugamya Pustakalaya
Union Government has launched Accessible E-Library ‘Sugamya Pustakalaya’ for Divyang under Prime Minister’s Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan). The e-library was jointly launched by Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad, Prakash Javadekar and Thawar Chand Gehlot. Sugamya Pustakalaya is an online library for Divyang and houses publications across diverse subjects and languages and multiple accessible formats. The online
library has been created in collaboration with National Institute of Visually Handicapped (NIVH), member organisations of Daisy Forum of India and Bookshare
and is powered by TCS Access.
UC approves MoU between India and Myanmar in field of Traditional Systems of Medicine
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Myanmar in the field of Traditional Systems of Medicine. The MoU will provide structured frame work for promotion of AYUSH/ Traditional Systems of Medicine in Myanmar. It will boost the importance of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) systems of medicine and conservation, production and standardisation.
Read more: Current Affairs Sept 2016 Study Material | FreeJobAlert.com http://currentaffairs.freejobalert.com/sept-2016-current-affairs-study-material/13951/#ixzz5TGEGVXg3
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