06.12.22 Daily [Assam] APSC Current Affairs

The deserted campus of the locked Nagaon paper mill of the Hindustan Paper Corporation (HPC) inJagiroadon the eastern fringe of Guwahati may soon become the centre of the state’s first satellite , to be designed by experts from Singapore.

The Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has appointed Singapore-based M/S Surbana Jurong Infrastructures Private Limited as the consultancy firm for drawing the masterplan and developing the satellite township, barely 55 km from the city. Sources in the housing and urban affairs department told TOI that the bigger plan is to develop around 10 sq km area in Jagiroad, including the defunct paper mill area. The State Government in March had formally taken over the assets of HPC Limited’s sick paper mill unit at Jagiroad in Morigaon district.

The scheme of Atal Vayo Abhyuday Yojana (AVYAY), being run by Department of Social and Empowerment, includes provision of financial security, healthcare, Nutrition, shelter, welfare etc. for senior citizens. Basic amenities like shelter, food, medical care, entertainment opportunities are provided free of cost to indigent senior citizens.

The districts of Uttar Pradesh in which the Integrated Senior Citizen programme is not being run under the AVYAY and as notified by the State Government for the year 2021-22 were Agra, Baghpat, Etawah, Farrukhabad, Gorakhpur, Hamirpur, Kasganj, Mathura and Prayagraj. Gap districts for Uttar Pradesh notified for 2022-23 were Mau, Baghpat, Barabanki, Bulandshahr, Kannauj and Kushi Nagar.

Senior citizen homes (old age homes) under Integrated Programme for Senior Citizens(IPSrC), a component of AVYAY, are provided in gap districts, i.e. districts not having senior citizen homes which includes senior citizen homes not being maintained even by the State Government. Such information is obtained by this Ministry from the respective States/ UTs on the basis of which, applications are invited from eligible organisations on e-Anudaan portal only. Organisations are then selected on the basis of documents provided by them, and also the recommendation of the respective State/ UT Government.

The Department of Posts under Ministry of Communications has launched an Online request Transfer Portal for Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS).

The Department of Posts has the largest Network of Post Offices in the world consisting of more than 1,56,000 Post Offices across India, out of which more than 1,31,000 Branch Post Offices (BOs) are in rural areas, where the Postal facilities are rendered through Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS).

Ministry of Railways has formulateda new policy for modernization of stations named Amrit Bharat Station scheme. Amrit Bharat Station scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long term vision. It is based on Master Planning for long term and implementation of the Elements of Master Plan as per the needs and patronage of the station.

The scheme aims at preparation of Master Plans of the RAILWAY stations and implementation of the Master Plan in phases to enhance the facilities

Attempts shall be made to club different grades/types of waiting halls and provide good cafeteria/retail facilities as far as possible

High level platforms(760-840 mill meter) shall be provided at all categories of stations.

NTPC, India’s largest power generation company, has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Tecnimont Private Limited, Indian Subsidiary of Maire Tecnimont Group, Italy. The objective of the MOU is to jointly evaluate and explore the possibility to develop commercial scale Green Methanol Production facility at NTPC project in India.

The Green Methanol Project involves capturing carbon from NTPC power Plants and converting it into a green fuel. Green Methanol has a wide range of applications, including serving as a base material for the chemical , storing renewable electricity, and even as a transportation fuel. It is also considered as a substitute fuel for maritime fuel applications.

The Indian national blind cricket team won the T20 World Cup for the Blind for the third time ina row. They defeated Bangladesh at Bengalurus M Chinnaswamy Stadium by a commanding score of 120 runs. The Indian captain, Ajay Kumar Reddy elected to bat after winning the toss,and his side eventually set a challenging total of 277 runs for Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi teamcould only muster 157 runs for three in return.