12.03.22 Daily [Assam] APSC Current Affairs

Meghalaya govt initiates talks with a terror outfit in hill state

After the Centre’s nod, the Meghalaya government has initiated the process to hold formal talks with the banned militant outfit Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), officials said on Friday. A senior official of the Meghalaya Home Department said that the has appointed retired Ias officer Peter S Dkhar as the interlocutor for facilitating the talks with the HNLC, which also last month offered to hold peace talks with the Centre and the Meghalaya government without any pre-conditions.

The HNLC has claimed responsibility for the low-intensity blasts that took place in recent months in the heart of Shillong and other areas in the state. While militancy is on the decline in Meghalaya over the last several years, but since 2020 the HNLC has been behind a few low-intensity IED blasts in the state. The HNLC, which has been demanding a sovereign Khasi tribal homeland in Meghalaya, is a breakaway faction of the Hynniewtrep Achik Liberation Council, the first tribal militant outfit of the mountainous state, formed in the mid-1980s.

The central government plans to spread the message on the way various social welfare schemes have benefitted the masses, including Women, and people from SC and ST communities.

After a thorough review, the government will launch a campaign to amplify the schemes and their benefits extended across India.

According to the government, such schemes asUjjwala,Pradhan MantriAwasYojna, and rural EMPLOYMENT programme have benefitted lakhs of families by way of employment generation, affordable housing, and cooking gas facility.

Petroleum, rural development, women and child development, social and Empowerment, and minority affairs are some of key ministries which have earmarked substantial funds from their budgets for such social welfare schemes.

The Supreme Court named AK Sikri, as chairperson of the High-Powered Committee (HPC), which will assess the Chardham projects cumulative and independent impact on the entire Himalayan valley.

The objective of the Chardham Pariyojana is to improve connectivity to the Chardham pilgrimage centres in the Himalayas i.e. Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri, and Gangotri, making journeys to these centres faster, safer, and more convenient. 900 kilometers of highways, including the Tanakpur-Pithoragarh stretch of National Highway (NH) 125, which is part of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra route will be widened under this project.

The on Wednesday approved the setting up of the National Land Monetization Corporation (NLMC) to monetise surplus land and building assets of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) and other agencies linked to the Government.

NLMC will have an initial authorised share capital of Rs 5,000 crore and paid-up share capital of Rs 150 crore.

Railways, Telecommunications and DEFENCE are among key ministries holding the maximum surplus land, while parcels of several CPSEs are in prime areas with good potential.

The NLMC will own, hold, manage and monetise surplus land and building assets of CPSEs under closure and surplus non-core land assets of Government-owned CPSEs under strategic Disinvestment. This will speed up the closure process of CPSEs and smoothen the Strategic Disinvestment process of Government-owned CPSEs.

While the Government had set a target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore through disinvestment in its Budget estimates in 2021-22, the target has been revised to Rs 78,000 crore for the year 2022-23, the target is Rs 65,000 crore.

NLMC will hire professionals from the private sector as in the case of similar entities like the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and Invest India.

According to available Government data, the total land available with the Railways is 4.78 lakh hectares (11.80 lakh acres) of which 4.27 lakh hectares is under operational and allied usage while around 0.51 lakh hectare (1.25 lakh acres) is vacant.

A bill seeking to establish a National Forensic Sciences University as an institution of national importance by upgrading the Gujarat Forensic Sciences University in Gandhinagar was introduced in Lok Sabha recently.

The statement of objects and reasons of the bill states that forensic sciences, criminology and applied behavioural sciences play a critical role in criminal investigations and prevention of crimes.

Criminal covers the entire gamut of processes through which crimes are investigated, criminals identified and apprehended, judged, punished and steps taken to prevent recidivism.

Conservative South Korean opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol was elected presidentof South Koria

Around 77% of South Korea’s 44 million eligible voters cast ballots to pick the leader of a nation whose global status is rising even as it has been riven by gender and generational divisions, while facing a confrontational North Korea.

The winner must tackle challenges including South Korea’s worst wave of COVID-19 infections, growing inequality and surging Home prices, while navigating an increasingly Tense rivalry between China and the United States.

Voters also want the new president to root out graft and pursue negotiations to curb North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.