NationalCurrent Affairs – UPSC/KPSC Exams – 10th April 2018
Telangana govt launches Rs 8,000/acre investment support scheme for farmers
- As part of its electoral promise, the Telangana government has launched a first-of-its kind investment support scheme for all farmers who will get Rs 8,000 per acre every year as crop investment support.
- About 58 lakh farmers who till over 1.42 crore acres are expected to be benefitted from the initiative, called the Rythu Bandhu scheme.
- They will directly get the financial support twice every year to maximise agricultural production and productivity.
- The state government has already set aside Rs 12,000 crore in the 2018-19 budget exclusively for this scheme.
- Launching the scheme, chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao claimed that Telangana is the first state to implement a farmer investment support scheme.
- Rs 8,000 per acre will be paid annually in two pay order cheques of Rs 4,000 per crop season.
- The state government has already implemented loan waiver of crop loans of Rs 16,124 crore benefitting 35.30 lakh farmers.
- It was followed by fresh loans at 25 paise interest.
- In the first phase, the government has made Rs 6,000 crore available in banks after distributing cheques among farmers to formally launch the scheme.
India Celebrates National Technology Day
- May 11th is observed as the National Technology Day in India. It is celebrated to honour India’s scientific inventions and advanced technological achievements.
- May 11th is also extremely important for India for the feat it achieved in showcasing its nuclear power. On this day, in 1998, India successfully tested its nuclear bombs in Pokhran in Rajasthan.
- Since then, May 11th has been considered as a day of significance in India’s scientific timeline. India has also carried out several other tests like the Trishul missile, test flying of indigenous aircraft Hansa-III on the same day.
- Apart from the initiatives in the defence sector, National Technological Day also honours India’s other technological and scientific development.
- On 11th May, 1998, the Atomic Energy Commission along with the Indian Army carried out three contained nuclear tests at 3:45 pm and on 13th May, 1998, two other nuclear tests were conducted at 12:21 pm in the deserts of Pokhran in Rajasthan.
- The Operation was codenamed ‘Shakti’. Earlier, India had carried out its first nuclear tests in 1974 under the codename ‘Smiling Buddha’ under the leadership of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
- There were five explosions during India’s second nuclear tests that were carried out in 1998. Among the five nuclear bombs, the first one was a fusion bomb and the rest four were fission bombs.
- The first three bombs included 45 kt thermonuclear device, 15 kt fission device and sub-kt nuclear device. The other two which were tested on 13th May were also sub-kt bombs of power 0.5 kt and 0.3 kt.
- The tests were carried out under the leadership of APJ Abdul Kalam, the former President of India and former Head of Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO). Other chief coordinators of the project were Dr R Chidambaram, former Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, Dr K Santhanam, former Chief Adviser, Technologies, DRDO and Dr Anil Kakdokar, former Director of Baba Atomic Research Center (BARC).
India, Panama sign two agreements
- India and Panama have signed two agreements on exemption of Visas for holders of Diplomatic and Official Passports and in the field of Agriculture.
- These agreements were signed in the presence of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and President of Panama Juan Carlos Varela Rodrigues and Vice President and Foreign Minister Isabel de Saint Malo de Alvarado in Panama city
- In a joint statement, Mr Naidu and Panama’s President said that India and Panama always had cordial relations.
- They said, these ties are based on our common values and a shared commitment to democracy, pluralism, multi-culturalism, and the rule of law.
- Both the countries resolve to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
- Two centres for Biodiversity and Innovation will be setup by India in Panama worth US $10 mn. and US $15 mn. each.
- In order to boost cooperation in key areas both the countries have agreed to strengthen cooperation in tax information, economic cooperation, air services, traditional medicines, culture and space.
Faster and Green: IAF Conducts Its First Online Test for Airmen Selection
- For the first time, an Indian military service has conducted an online selection test for its recruitment process which saw the participation of a total of 4,09,169 candidates from 439 centres in 102 cities across the country.
- The Scheduled Test for Airmen Recruitment (STAR) was piloted online successfully from May 3 to 6 and was a collaboration between the IAF and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) Pune, a government organisation under the aegis of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
- It is believed that on an average, the IAF receives over 4 lakh applications, which is much higher than the employment scope for the Airmen Selection Centres.
- To make the selection process even more seamless, the first level of screening has now been rendered down to the Class 12 marks of the applicants.
- What makes this shift a sensible idea is that the process is not only a cost-effective solution for the IAF but also showcases transparency and equity as it reaches out to aspirants who come from the farthest corners of the country.
- The first-of-its-kind initiative was monitored by higher officials at the Air Headquarters and Command Headquarters and was greatly appreciated by Defence Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, and Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, the Chief of the Air Staff.
Stanford University to partner with UP to combat chronic diseases
- Uttar Pradesh Health Minister Sidharth Nath Singh informed that the United States Stanford University will come in a partnership with the state to combat disease like Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES).
- Companies like Boeing, Lockheed Martin also want to come to India and build a plant for their air crafts.
- During the official visit to the United States, Singh and his delegation met with the officials from the State Department, the Department of Commerce and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and had round tables with the industry representatives.
