February 2020

Four hydro projects violate Ganga flow norms Since the government made it mandatory for hydro power projects on the upper reaches of the river Ganga’s tributaries to release minimum quantities of water through the year, 4 of the 11 projects are flouting norms, says a report by the Central Water Commission (CWC). The ecological flow, or e-flow notification as it is called, specifies that the upper stretches of the Ganga — from its origins in the glaciers and until Haridwar — would have to maintain: 20% of the monthly average flow of the preceding 10-days between November and March, which ... Read more

Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 The Union Cabinet approved the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020, to amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. the proposed amendment seeks to enhance the upper gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks for special categories of women that will be defined in the amendments to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Rules and will include ‘vulnerable women including survivors of rape, victims of incest and other vulnerable women (like differently-abled women, minors) etc. Financial allocation for foriegn Nations in Budget 2020: India has allocated ₹800 crore to the projects under ... Read more

CAG report on Siachen troops Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) pulled up the Army for deficiencies in the provision of special clothing, rations and housing for troops in high-altitude areas, including Siachen. There were delays of up to four years in the procurement of high-altitude clothing and equipment, leading to an acute shortage of essential clothing and equipment. There was a critical shortage of snow goggles, ranging from 62% to 98%. The troops had not been issued ‘multi-purpose boots’ from November 2015 to September 2016, and had to resort to the recycling of available boots Lack of research and development by ... Read more

HAL inks pact to make & sell Israeli drones Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has signed a pact with Israel Aerospace Industries Limited (IAI) and Dynamatic Technologies Limited (DTL) for marketing, manufacturing and selling IAI’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or drones in India. UAVs are playing a significant role in wars and other tactical missions such as intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance. IAI as design authority, HAL as principal contractor and DTL as a principal subcontractor will complement each other to provide best in class ‘Make-in-India’ UAVs to the defence forces The third Scorpene submarine, Karanj The third Scorpene submarine, Karanj, will ... Read more

International Religious Freedom Alliance The United States announced the launch of a 27-nation International Religious Freedom Alliance, which will try to adopt a collective approach in protecting and preserving religious freedom across the world. The areas will include things like technology and religious oppression, blasphemy and apostasy laws, for instance. Toolbox will include things like, whether it’s putting out statements, actions that can take place in international bodies that the group can come together and hopefully come behind, the possibilities of sanctions being used Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will visit India Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will ... Read more

CHHATTISGARH Three-day Youth Festival in Raipur The three-day Youth Festival commemorating the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda saw an enthusiastic start at Science College Ground. Governor Anusuiya Uikey and special guest, chief minister Bhupesh Baghel lighted the lamps at the inauguration of the grand event. The fest had competitions of various rural games, folk dance, fine arts, and classical music will polish the rural sports talent and promote the local culture.   Ease of living index (EoLI) and municipal performance index (MPI) 2019 The ministry of housing and urban affairs have launched the ease of living index (EoLI) and municipal ... Read more

DefExpo 2020 Defence Expo in Lucknow was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The number of participating foreign companies has also increased to 172 from the previous figure of 160. The main theme of the DefExpo India 2020 is ‘India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub’ and the focus will be on ‘Digital Transformation of Defence’. The sub-theme of the exhibition is ‘Digital Transformation of Defence’ to highlight the future digitalization of the industry and align with the concept of the future battlefield. Manufacturing for the aerospace and defence sector through the application of newer technologies is also being focused. In ... Read more

Fifth edition of India-UK joint military exercise ‘Ajeya Warrior’ The fifth edition of India-UK joint military exercise ‘Ajeya Warrior’ will be conducted at Salisbury Plains, United Kingdom from February 13 to 26 The aim of this exercise is to conduct company level joint training with emphasis on counter-terror operations in urban and semi-urban areas. Training on modern weapon systems, equipment and simulator training have also been planned Gaganyaan astronaut-elects begin training in Russia The four Indian astronaut-elects, who left for Russia on Friday, have begun their 12-month long training at the Gagarin Research & Test Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) in ... Read more

CHHATTISGARH Chhattisgarh dairy federation plans to launch new products the Chhattisgarh State Cooperative Dairy Federation is drawing up ambitious plans, including launch of new products and tapping e-commerce opportunities, that would benefit the dairy farmers associated with the primary milk cooperative societies across the state. new milk products including ‘Chhena Rabdi’ started in September last year and whey-protein drinks ‘Gutpat’, ‘Chhena Kheer’ and ice cream are being manufactured and sold in the market from January this year. With an objective to provide improved quality animal feed to dairy farmers of the state, federation managing director said a 100 MT capacity ... Read more

US President Donald Trump, likely to visit Ahmedabad on February 24 would participate in a grand roadshow in Ahmedabad and also tour the Sabarmati Ashram will likely inaugurate a newly-built cricket stadium here with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The mega event at the stadium will be similar to the “Howdy, Modi!” event held in the US last year. The stadium at Motera has a seating capacity of 1.10 lakh. Assamese-speaking Muslim community to be recognized as an “ethnic tribe” Assamese-speaking Muslims with population of 40 lakhs could be officially classified as an “ethnic tribe” instead of the loosely used nomenclature ... Read more