CHHATTISGARH
- C’garh Starts Preparations For Bharatmala Project
- Chhattisgarh has commenced preparations for implementation of the Bharatmala project.
- A meeting in this regard was held at the official residence of Chief Minister Raman Singh.
- During the first phase of the project, five roads would be constructed at a cost of Rs 7000 crore measuring 436 kms, officials informed.
- Singh said that ‘Bharatmala’ is an ambitious national project. The State will be linked to three economic corridors. There will be less traffic congestion in several cities including Raipur. There will be easy connectivity to the rest of the country and there will be increase in economic activity.
- The officials informed in the meeting that as a part of Mumbai-Kolkata Corridor Durg, Raipur, Arang road will be developed. Six-lane road will be laid up to distance of 100 km from Durg-Arang. Raipur bye-pass road will also be laid. There will be less pressure on the roads in Raipur. As a part of Raipur-Dhanbad Corridor, four-lane road will be laid from Bilaspur-Urga and from Urga-Pathalgaon. As a part of Raipur-Visakhapatnam Economic Corridor, four-lane road will be laid from Kurud-Gutkel on Andhra Pradesh border.
- Notably, Chhattisgarh is among seven states where a Detailed Project Report (DPR) would be prepared for construction of highways under ‘Bharatmala’ project.
- The preparation of DPR of about 3, 600 Km of highways In the States of Odisha, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh And Union Territory of Puducherry would be made, officials informed.
- The Chhattisgarh government has set the target of completing construction of 338 roads at a cost of Rs 19,326 crores by March 2018.
INTERNATIONAL
· Air New Zealand wins Airline Excellence Award for the 5th time
- Air New Zealand has been crowned “2018 Airline of the Year” by leading international aviation.
- The award marks the 5thconsecutive year Air New Zealand has received the top honour in its Airline Excellence Awards.
- It is followed by Qantas Airways, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Australia and Virgin Atlantic.
- Meanwhile, Etihad Airways, All Nippon Airways, Korean Air, Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines are also featured on the list.
- Kenneth Juster Confirmed as the Next US Ambassador to India
- The US Senate confirmed by a voice vote the nomination of Kenneth Juster as the next US Ambassador to India.
- Juster, 62, has played a key role in the landmark Indo-US civil nuclear deal.
- He will replace Richard Vermaas the top American diplomat to India.
- Juster is soon expected to be headed to India for the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Hyderabad.
- The annual summit is being co-hosted by India and the United States.
- Kazakhstan to change its name by 2025
- The central Asian country of Kazakhstan is changing its name to Qazaqstan in a challenge to Russian influence over the country.
- The former Soviet state announced that it will appoint a national committee to oversee the country’s transition from Russian Cyrillic to a Latin-based alphabet by 2025.
- As a result, the name of the country will be changed to the Latin equivalent ‘Qazaqstan.’
NATIONAL
· Tamil Nadu’s Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple wins UNESCO award
- The Sri Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam in Tamil Nadu won UNESCO Asia-Pacific award for cultural heritage conservation programme in the Awards of Merit category.
- It is first temple from Tamil Nadu to grab the prestigious honour from the UN body.
· Indira Gandhi International Airport at Delhi will get 55 additional counters by January 2018
- The Home Ministry approved the addition of 55 counters at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and 1,800 more personnel will be deployed by January 2018 to deal with rising passenger traffic.
- The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba.
- The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) will provide space for at least 10 more immigration counters at departure area byNovember 15while additional space will be provided for another 10 immigration counters to be functional by January 2018.
· BRO Builds World’s Highest Motorable Road in Ladakh
- The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) built the world’s highest motorable road at a height of over 19,300 feet.
- The road has been constructed in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.
- The 86-kilometre long strategic road has been constructedunder ‘Project Himank’ of the BRO.
- It connects Chisumle and Demchok villages.
- The road passes through Umlingla Top at a height of over 19,300 feet.
- Deen Dayal SPARSH Yojana launched to promote philately
- Minister of Communications Shri Manoj Sinha launched a Pan India scholarship program for school children called Deen Dayal SPARSH Yojana to increase the reach of Philately.
- Under the scheme of SPARSH (Scholarship for Promotion of Aptitude & Research in Stamps as a Hobby), it is proposed to award annual scholarships to children of Standard VI to IX having good academic record and also pursuing Philately as a hobby through a competitive selection process in all postal circles.
- Briefing the media after the launch of the scheme, Shri Sinha said that under the scheme, it is proposed to award 920 scholarships to students pursuing Philately as a hobby.
- Every Postal Circle will select a maximum of 40 scholarships representing 10 students each from Standard VI, VII, VIII & IX.
- The amount of Scholarship will be Rs. 6000/- per annum @ Rs. 500/- per month.
