ASSAM

Assam govt setting up 65-storeyed twin tower to boost trade

The Assam government is in the process of setting up a Global Trade Centre in Guwahati as part of making it a “trade and business gateway” to South East Asia.

Government has already started work to dredge the Barak river while dredging work in Brahmaputra river would also start soon.

Golf tourism in the scenic river cruises on Brahmaputra and tea garden areas of the State has also emerged as an area of great interest.

INTERNATIONAL

Iran bans English from being taught in primary schools

Iran has banned teaching the English language in primary schools, calling the subject a “cultural invasion”.

The education ministry “envisages strengthening Persian language skills and Iranian Islamic culture of pupils at the primary school stage”.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has previously expressed concern about the teaching of English.

The full list of winners of the Golden Globes 2018

Best actress in a limited series or television movie: Nicole Kidman
Best supporting actor in a motion picture (drama): Sam Rockwell
Best supporting actor in a series, limited series or TV film: Alexander Skarsgård
Best actor (comedy/musical): James Franco
Best animated film: Coco
Best foreign film: In the Fade
Best film director: Guillermo del Toro
Best actress in a film (comedy/musical): Saoirse Ronan
Best film (comedy/musical): Lady Bird
Best actor (drama): Gary Oldman
Best actress (drama): Frances McDormand
Best film (drama): Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

NATIONAL

Annual Haj 2018 agreement between India and Saudi Arabia

Union Minister for Minority Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that Saudi Arabia has given the green signal for India’s decision to revive the option of sending Haj pilgrims through sea route also.
Officials from both the countries will discuss on all the necessary formalities and technicalities so that Haj pilgrimage through sea route can be started in the coming years.

A decision in this regard was taken, during the signing of bilateral annual Haj 2018 agreement between India and Saudi Arabia by Shri Naqvi and Haj and Umrah Minister of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, His Excellency Dr Mohammad Saleh bin Taher Benten at Makkah.

Shri Naqvi said that sending pilgrims through ships will help cut down travel expenses significantly.

The practice of ferrying Haj pilgrims between Mumbai and Jeddah by waterways was stopped from 1995.

· Prime Minister Narendra Modi Inaugurates 1st PIO Parliamentary Conference in Delhi

PM Narendra Modi inaugurates the firstPersons of Indian Origin (PIO) Parliamentary Conference in Delhi on the occasion of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.
The day is celebrated every year to mark the contribution of the overseas Indian community in the development of India.
It also commemorates the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to Mumbai on 9 January 1915. In the Conference, the biggest delegation was from Guyana with 20 members of parliament and three mayors.

Established in 2003, and sponsored by the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India, the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is held from 7-9 January every year.

Gk bit – PIO,OIC and NRI

People who go and live abroad from India can be categorised in three broad categories-NRIs, PIOs and OCIs. While NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) is essentially a term for Indians that live in another country, PIOs and OCIs are people who want to stay connected and involved with India more closely.

For that same reason, the government of India issues PIO cards and OCI cards to them according to their needs.

NRI -An Indian citizen residing outside India for a combined total of at least 183 days in a financial year (from April 1 to March 31).

PIO card (Person of Indian Origin) card and OCI cards (Overseas Citizen of India) give different benefits.

A PIO card holder doesn’t need a visa to visit India. The holder also doesn’t require a student or employment visa to acquire employment or academic opportunities in India.

The holder was exempted from registering at the foreigner regional registration office (FRRO) during the duration of stay in India.

The holder also enjoys parity with NRIs in concern to economic, financial and educational matters.

Separate immigration counters are provided at all International airports in India for PIO card holders.

It does not provide voting rights to the holder.

OCI is essentially a lifetime visa status offered by India to an Indian person who has given up his citizenship.

OCI cards give you lifetime multiple entry visa to India. Also, you never have to register with the FRRO no matter how long your stay is.

An OCI card holder cannot vote, hold a government job or purchase agricultural or farm land.

India unveils Pratyush, its fastest supercomputer yet

India’s supercomputing prowess moved up several notches after it unveiled Pratyush, an array of computers that can deliver a peak power of 6.8 petaflops.

One petaflop is a million billion floating point operations per second and is a reflection of the computing capacity of a system.

Pratyush is the fourth fastest supercomputer in the world dedicated for weather and climate research, and follows machines in Japan, USA and the United Kingdom.

Defence Innovation Centre to be set up at Coimbatore

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced the release of ₹20 crore to the Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (Codissia) for setting up a defence innovation centre.

The proposed centre will help the micro, small and medium enterprises and start-ups engaged in the manufacture of components for the defence sector conduct tests and trials of the components, the Minister said.

She said India is the third biggest armaments procurement country in the world.

· Haryana Becomes First State to Launch High Risk Pregnancy Portal

Haryana becomes the first state in the country to launch High-Risk Pregnancy (HRP) Portal.
This portal not only helps in early identification of high-risk pregnant cases up to the grass-roots level but also ensures their timely referral to the civil hospitals for further management and delivery by specialists.
This innovative web application has been designed to track every high-risk pregnant woman till 42 days after delivery so that she receives adequate treatment during the ante-natal period for the healthy outcome of pregnancy.

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